2010 IYNurse:   Will this be the International Year of the Nurse?

December 2009 -- A new global initiative founded by three prominent nursing groups is seeking to have the United Nations declare 2010 the "International Year of the Nurse," in honor of the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's death. The founding groups are Sigma Theta Tau International, the Florence Nightingale Museum in London, and the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health (NIGH). The NIGH notes that the 2010 initiative "seeks to recognize the contributions of nurses globally and to engage nurses in the promotion of world health, including the UN Millennium Development Goals." These eight goals call for the reduction of poverty, universal primary education, gender equality, better maternal health, reduced child mortality, fighting diseases including AIDS, environmental sustainability, and developing a "global partnership for development." The focus on such broad goals illustrates the holistic, policy-oriented approach of strong nursing advocates. The "2010 IYNurse" initiative envisions holding events as part of a "celebration of commitment" to help the world's estimated 15 million nurses "showcase their unique contributions toward the achievement of health and well-being for everyone." One event planned is the Million Nurse Global Caring Field Project. It aims to "create and radiate an energetic Caring Consciousness Field of Heart-Centered Love for Self, Others, and the Planet Earth," and to "extend[] the human caring vibration of nurses into the universal energy field of humanity facilitating healing and health for all." We commend those involved with these initiatives for their efforts to increase global understanding of the contributions of nurses. And we urge them to convey not only that nurses extend caring vibrations into the universal energy field, but also that nurses are educated, skilled health professionals with a unique scope of practice who need public and private sector support in order to save lives and improve outcomes. Learn more at www.2010iynurse.net