By Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief
Melbourne, Australia
There’s lots happening at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) meeting and I’ve logged more walking miles here in Melbourne in the last two days than I do in a week at home.
Judith Shamian
On Monday, the Council of National Representatives (CNR), the ICN’s governing body, announced election results. Judith Shamian, a well-known Canadian nursing leader, was elected the 27th president of the ICN. (For more information about Judith and other election results, read this press release.)
The CNR also agreed to address issues related to membership models and will move forward with a plan designed to support inclusiveness and membership growth in national associations. The plan also includes a tiered voting model that takes membership and percentage of membership into account. (The final vote will take place at the 2015 Congress).
Rosemary Bryant
New dues scheme: will RCN return? The CNR approved a new scheme for dues that should address the issue that led the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to withhold dues, resulting in its suspension from the ICN and its recent vote to withdraw from the ICN. According to ICN president Rosemary Bryant, Norway and Japan, who were also unhappy with their dues payments, were pleased with the new model. She is hopeful that the RCN will be as well. (A podcast interview with Bryant can be listened to at our podcast conversations page here.)
I spoke with David Benton, chief executive officer of the ICN, about the RCN’s two-year suspension. According to Benton, the ICN had no choice. “The RCN made a unilateral decision in 2010 with no attempt to negotiate another resolution,” he said. He added that as a long-time member and a fellow of the RCN, he’s personally saddened by its decision to withdraw from the ICN. He noted that only a small portion of RCN’s dues goes to ICN membership and that other countries with far less resources continue to support the ICN’s work. He, too, is hopeful that the changes recently approved by the CNR will prompt the RCN to reconsider its position.
Meanwhile, two new associations were admitted to the ICN: the Chinese Nurses Association and the Palestinian Nursing and Midwifery Association (read more here).
Invisible nurses at the WHO. Another issue, not new but perhaps one that is coming to a head, is the “eradication of nursing expertise at the WHO.” Nursing positions, especially leadership posts, have been disappearing from the WHO headquarters and regional offices and are now at an all-time low of 0.6% (down from 2.6% in 2000). (See AJN‘s July 2011 editorial and July 2012 report on this.) According to a document issued Monday, the CNR “calls upon the WHO Director General to urgently reinstate the vacant positions of WHO Chief Nursing Scientist at WHO headquarters and urges regional directors to retain and strengthen senior nursing advisor positions in their regions.”
I also attended several interesting sessions: Read the rest of this entry ?
