Nurses in solidarity for health issues

Judith Shamian, president of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) / Courtesy of ICN

‘More attention needed for health issues of nurses’

By Jung Min-ho

Nursing is a physically and psychologically demanding profession. It is also dangerous. Over the past few years, hundreds of nurses have lost their lives fighting diseases like Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

It is easy to assume that this is mainly because of the job’s risky nature, given that nurses work so close to sick people. But according to the International Council of Nurses (ICN) President Judith Shamian, the danger is more their poor working conditions.

“Nurses and other health-care workers cannot continue to work in conditions where their own health is at risk ― we have seen this in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea,” she said. “It is very important that we show solidarity to nurses around the world precisely by holding this conference, and by addressing these issues directly.

“The safety of health-care workers is always of utmost importance to ICN.”

Apparently the situation in Korea is not much different. Since the outbreak of MERS in Korea, 11 nurses have contracted the virus after treating patients ― mostly because of low-quality protective clothing.

To improve the working conditions for nurses, Shamian said the ICN had extended its reach to policy makers at international organizations and in government.

“We have worked closely with the WHO, the World Bank, U.N. agencies and others to ensure the voices of nursing are heard,” she said. “On a national level, we have worked with governments to improve the working conditions of nurses and to create protective regulatory systems for them.”

Shamian is visiting Korea for the ICN Conference, from June 19 to 23 at the COEX. More than 7,000 nurses from 112 countries are participating.

“We have an opportunity to make our mark at the highest policy-making level and this conference will help us all expand our horizons and learn more about the important health issues of our time and how we can play a part in solving them,” she said.

Over the next 100 years, she believes the roles of nurses will continue to evolve dramatically as they have done over the past century, mainly because of globalization.

“The world is undoubtedly getting smaller,” she said. “Globalization has radically changed the environment we work in, as well as communication, transportation, disease and care. Nurses will be expected to keep up to date with these changes, and their education and scope of practice will change as well.”

She also said nurses across the world now needed more cooperation to cope with epidemic diseases such as Ebola and MERS, which had become an “issue for all of us” in recent years.

“The Ebola and MERS outbreaks have taught us several important lessons about readiness and cooperation,” she said. “Diseases spread more quickly than ever across borders and solutions must be found on a global basis.”

This is not her first visit to Korea. Last year, she visited Ewha Womans University in Seoul as a special speaker and a few hospitals where she was “very impressed” with the nursing care and nursing leadership in the country.

Shamian noted that she appreciates the “vast” contributions Korean nurses have made to the health of the world’s population.

“I think the conference will be a truly wonderful learning experience for us all and a chance for nursing to top the headlines,” she said.