University of Miama President Donna Shalala. Photo by Knight Foundation, via Flickr.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is supporting a new Institute of Medicine (IOM) Commission on the Future of Nursing. The chairperson will be University of Miami President Donna Shalala (also former Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Clinton Administration); the commission will include a few nurses but also others from various private and public sectors. The foundation has been investing significantly in nursing in recent years, with projects such as the Executive Nurse Fellowships, an interdisciplinary nursing research initiative, Transforming Care At the Bedside, and the AARP Center to Champion Nursing.
The commission is not expected to start its work until later this year, but nursing should applaud the RWJ Foundation for recognizing the importance of nursing and being willing to invest in it. My money is betting that this commission will result in significant recommendations—instead of unread and tepid reports designed to collect dust.
-Diana Mason, AJN editor-in-chief
I hope you are invited to be on that Commission Dr. Mason.
I hope you’re right. A lot of these commissions result in nothing but the conclusion that we “need more studies.” It would be nice to get something real for the money, for a change!