Too many times during my career, I have heard fellow nurses say, "I'm just a nurse" or "what influence do I have, I'm just a nurse". When I hear someone say either of these, or similar statements, I just cringe.
There are nearly 4 million nurses in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, 2019). According to the World Health Organization, there are approximately 27.9 million nurses globally who collectively account for 59% of the global health workforce (World Health Organization, 2020). As the largest cadre of the global health care workforce, we, nearly 28 million nurses, are highly educated professionals who have independent scopes of practice. We as nurses make a difference every day when we go to work at the local health center or hospital, when we walk into the classroom and mentor the next generation of nurses, or when we walk into the halls of the state legislature or Congress or Parliament to engage in policy work.
Without nurses, and midwives, there would be even greater diminished access to care than what we already see. In nearly every corner of the world, nurses understand the drivers of disease, witness the barriers to care, and encounter the injustices and inequities associated with the lack of access to universal primary care and health care.
How can an individual belonging to the largest segment of the global and domestic health care workforce be described as "just a nurse"?
With the context in mind, please bear with me as I get on my soapbox. To illustrate the impact that nurses do have, I am going to highlight the impact of a few of my colleagues, my role models, and my esteemed ANAC colleagues.
Recently, Ann Kurth, past president of ANAC, was named the President of the New York Academy of Medicine. Ann is one of my role models. She is a champion for health equity, social justice, and planetary health. She will be the first nurse to serve as President of the New York Academy of Medicine when she starts in this new role in January 2023. Similarly, she was the first nurse to serve as Chair of the Consortium of Universities in Global Health. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Nursing, and American College of Nurse Midwives. Ann is not "just a nurse"; she is a leader, change agent, advocate, and trailblazer.
LaRon Nelson is someone whom I regard with the highest of esteem. He is one of many ANAC colleagues making a difference daily. He co-founded the Central and West Africa Implementation Science Alliance. This alliance is a network of implementation scientists from Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, and Nigeria focused on improving health outcomes among adolescents in West Africa. He is also one of the co-chairs of the HIV Prevention Trials Network testing an integrated multilevel intervention designed to reduce HIV incidence among Black MSM in the southern United States. LaRon is not "just a nurse"; LaRon is helping to build the body of evidence and facilitating its translation to ensure health equity.
Donatilla Mukamana is a friend and a colleague. She is nurse educator, nurse scientist, and advocate. She was the Founding Dean of the University of Rwanda School of Nursing and Midwifery. She was the first Registered Mental Health Nurse in Rwanda. She is a strong advocate for advanced education in nursing and midwifery. It was because of her leadership and tenacious spirit that the University of Rwanda developed a Master of Science in Nursing program with eight clinical specialties as part of the Human Resources for Health Rwanda Program. Similarly, her leadership helped establish the PhD in Nursing Science Program at the University of Rwanda. Donatilla is not "just a nurse". She is a transformative leader impacting the health and well-being of Rwandans.
Please do not own the label of being "just a nurse". The next time you hear that phrase, please stop-take a breath-and then correct the person making that statement. Please find time in your already busy personal and professional life to show up at the local town council meeting to raise your voice about the health inequities occurring in your local community. Show up at local school board meetings to advocate for comprehensive, inclusive sexual health education. Show up at the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care annual meeting in Tampa, Florida, in November to show Florida's politicians that we don't accept the state's discriminatory "don't say gay" rhetoric. Show up at the ballot box on November 8 and exercise your constitutional right to vote.
To my nearly 28 million nursing colleagues around the world, thank you for being a nurse!
Disclosures
The authors report no real or perceived vested interests related to this article that could be construed as a conflict of interest.
Author Contributions
M. V. Relf was involved with the conceptualization, writing the original draft, and review and editing.
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