Evolution of the Nursing Now Campaign in Brazil

Section: Editorial

How to quote

Costa Mendes IA, Rodolfo Silva I. Evolución de la campaña Nursing Now Brasil. Metas Enferm may 2020; 23(4):3-6. Doi: https://doi.org/ 10.35667/MetasEnf.2019.23.1003081578

Authors

Isabel Amélia Costa Mendes1, Ítalo Rodolfo Silva2

Position

1Profesora emérita. Titular Senior. Doctora en Ciencias, honoris causa por la McMaster University, Canadá. Colaboradora COFEn-Coordenadora GT Nursing Now Brasil. Coordinadora RedEDIT. Universidad de São Paulo, Escuela de Enfermería de Ribeirão Preto (Brasil). Centro Colaborador OMS para Investigación en Enfermería (Brasil). 2Doctor en Ciencias. Professor adjunto. Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro, Campus de Macaé-Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). Colaborador COFEn del Grupo de Trabajo Nursing Now Brasil.

Contact email: iamendes@usp.br

Versión en Español

Título:

Evolución de la campaña Nursing Now Brasil

razilian Nursing welcomed with great pride and enthusiasm the Nursing Now international campaign in February, 2018. We already expected many celebrations in this year 2020 which marks the bicentennial of the birth of Florence Nightingale, but we did not expect that the impact of the recognition of the main role of Nursing, in different world settings, would reach its current visibility. We are aware that there is still a long road ahead in terms of spaces for professional autonomy and recognition, with the objective to achieve full exercise of our competencies for an overall transformation in the healthcare area.

In this sense, the union between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has been and still is a strategic element in order to mobilize professionals, organizations and governments for the recognition of Nursing as an essential and determining factor in order to achieve the health goals in the world and, similarly, for the strengthening of health systems, particularly in terms of access, in a dignified way, to Primary Care services which guarantee health among the population.

Following the same logic, an association was formed in Brazil between the Federal Council of Nursing (COFEn) and the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the development of Nursing research, linked with the Ribeirão Preto Nursing School of the Universidad de São Paulo, which assumed leadership of the Nursing Now Campaign in this country. On April, 24th, 2019, there was a formal launch in Brasilia, under the managing recommendation by the international campaign, Burdett Trust for Nursing, for national launches to be held in the relevant capital cities. This was a vibrant ceremony, with participation by all national nursing leaders, academia, health services, scientific associations and societies, Nursing representatives in the Education and Science and Technology Ministries, students in Nursing technical courses, students and professors from undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels (Master and Doctorate in Nursing).

The launching ceremony was attended by the Ministry of Health of Brazil, Dr. Luiz Henrique Mandetta; the Regional Director for the Americas of the World Health Organization  (PAHO, Washington), Dr. Carissa Etienne; the President of the International Council of Nurses, Annette Kennedy; the Chief Nursing Officer at WHO (Geneva), Dr. Elizabeth Iro; the Executive Director of the Nursing Now Global Campaign, Dr. Barbara Stilwell; the Regional Advisor on Nursing for the Pan American area, Dr. Silvia Helena de Bortoli Cassiani; the leaders of the associated entities responsible for the launch and promotion of the Campaign in Brazil, represented by Dr. Manoel Carlos Neri da Silva and Dr. Maria Helena Marziale; as well as members of parliament and leaders who filled the Fiocruz Auditorium in Brasilia. Digital media for this launch can be accessed at the COFEn website, as well as at the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Development of Nursing Research (1,2).

As well as physical participation, the COFEn provided real-time video-streaming, so that all nurses in Brazil had complete access to the launch of this historical milestone in our country. It should be highlighted that the Ministry of Health conveyed to the attending audience the recognition of the movement strengthened by the union of different Nursing leaders, by holding up the campaign poster “Nursing represents `the lungs’ of Primary Care in Brazil”. We would also like to highlight that, even though we acknowledge the importance and necessity of an interdisciplinary nature for the health systems around the world and, particularly, for the Single Health System, we are aligned with the understanding by the WHO and the International Council of Nurses that Nursing is essential so that everyone will have access to the healthcare required for quality of life, based on health promotion and recovery, and the prevention of diseases and/or injuries.

The President of the COFEn stated enthusiastically in his speech that: “Nursing Now Brazil will shake up Brazilian nursing”. Therefore, this is the spirit of Nursing Now Brazil, which involved the entire audience with the hope of a strengthened, valued and united Nursing.

Since the launch of this campaign in our country, the Nursing Now Brazil Work Group, set up by the COFEn, has conducted actions with the Regional Councils of Nursing. There have been launches in the states of the country, as well as in collaboration with educational and healthcare institutions, through institutional affiliations which altogether will drive the Campaign in a capillarity perspective through those different settings and scenarios where Nursing conducts healthcare.

The work of this group follows the commitment undertaken at the launch of the Campaign in Brazil, in order to achieve the three goals widely stated in the Letter of Intent of Brasilia (3), which was read and approved by all those present at the launch:
–    Goal 1: To invest in the strengthening of education and the development of Nursing professionals, with special focus on leadership.
–    Goal 2: To invest in an improvement of working conditions for Nursing professionals.  
–    Goal 3: To spread effective and innovative Nursing practices based on scientific evidence, both at national and regional setting.

Therefore, regardless of all challenges involved to achieve these goals, the Nursing Now Brazil Work Group has put forward strategies to strengthen Nursing, based on the coordination and integration of different local and regional leaders, targeted to mobilize our forces so that the society and the representatives of the population are aware of the impact of Nursing on the socioeconomic development of the country and, particularly, on the quality of life of people. In this sense, public audiences have been successful events, gathering nurses from different leadership levels in order to discuss the local, regional and national challenges associated with Nursing.

Besides, the Work Group has conducted mapping actions in the national setting for successful leadership practices and projects conducted by Nursing professionals in the different segments included in the campaign goals. With this, our objective is not only to strengthen the visibility of these actions, but also to encourage strategies to coordinate common experiences / practices for setting up networks in collaboration which will strengthen Nursing.

We know that the challenges to strengthen Nursing are diverse, but the spirit of Nursing Now overcomes the chronological milestone of the campaign, and drives us to the certainty that, through the integration of different leaders (local, regional and national), we will have the opportunity to mobilize forces that will increase the visibility and recognition of Nursing.

Bibliography

  1. Conselho Federal de Enfermagem. Nursing Now vai sacudir a Enfermagem brasileira. [internet]. [citado 8 abr 2020]. Disponible en: http://www.cofen.gov.br/nursing-now-vai-sacudir-a-enfermagem-brasileira_70404.html
  2. Centro Colaborador OMS/OPAS para o desenvolvimento da Pesquisa em Enfermagem. Carta de Brasília. [internet]. [citado 8 abr 2020]. Disponible en: http://www.eerp.usp.br/collaborating-centre-letter-brasilia/
  3. Mendes IAC. Agora, sim!!! Lançamento da Campanha Nursing Now Brasil. Enfermagem em Foco. [internet] 2019 [citado 8 abr 2020]; 10(2). Disponible em: http://revista.cofen.gov.br/index.php/enfermagem/article/view/233176