Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259738
" IF WE ARE REPEATEDLY RELYING ON HEROICS TO GET THE JOB DONE, MAYBE SOMETHING BIGGER IS AT STAKE. " —DAN HEATH, MBA Author of The Power of Moments EDITORS' NOTE: This article is a revised and expanded version of the author's much- discussed LinkedIn essay, originally posted on May 22, 2020. COVID-19 has made nursing front page news. This public recognition has given nurses an unprecedented moment of well- deserved appreciation. We need to harness this momentum to make real and lasting changes. If we act now, we can elevate the role nurses play in all aspects of healthcare. To prepare for the next crisis — and for the good of the healthcare system — we nurses need to become more effective advocates, from the bedside to the boardroom. "WHAT WOULD FLORENCE DO?" Before anyone saw COVID-19 coming, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth and in recognition of "nurses' vital role in transforming health- care around the world." As we commemorated Florence's birthday on May 12th, I asked myself, "What would Florence do if she were here today, responding to COVID-19?" The heroic sacrifices nurses are making in our war against the coronavirus remind me of the inspiring, selfless service that Florence Nightingale and her team of nurses provided during the Crimean War. In October 1854, Florence led 38 volunteer nurses to care for British soldiers in a mili- tary hospital in Turkey. When the nurses first arrived, Florence was appalled at the poor care the soldiers were receiving. Their clothing and beds were filthy, medicine and other essentials were in short supply, the food was terrible, and the sewage system was overflowing. Florence and her team took the initiative in transforming their patients' circumstances. The nurses brought in clean towels, fresh changes of clothing and soap. They scrubbed the kitchen and prepared healthy food. They even arranged for the sewage system to be drained. W O R K I N G N U R S E C O V E R S T O R Y