“What Would Florence Do?” A Celebration of Nursing

The UCSF School of Nursing commemorated the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, National Nurses Week and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, with the special event, “What Would Florence Do?” on May 5. 

The event featured School of Nursing faculty members, students and alumni delivering presentations on significant topics in nursing, including diabetes management and caring for the LGBTQ+ community and people dealing with homelessness. The speakers were:

Mary Foley, PhD, RN, FAAN, a clinical professor in the Department of Physiological Nursing, detailed the impact Nightingale had on the nursing profession and how her innovations are still being utilized today. (Presentation begins at 4:12 mark)

Carolina Noya, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, an associate clinical professor in the Department of Family Health Care Nursing, describes the success she’s experienced in conducting shared medical appointments with individuals with diabetes. Shared medical appointments disrupt the status quo and help create a more equitable provider-patient relationship, according to Noya. (Presentation begins at 8:52 mark)

Taylor Cuffaro, RN, a master’s student, discusses the power of “Street Nursing.” Cuffaro and four classmates conduct weekly consultations with individuals experiencing homelessness, facilitating health referrals and providing medical supplies. (Presentation begins at 15:44 mark)

Jerry John Nutor, PhD, RN. Individuals with chronic diseases like HIV, who have lower incomes and are from developing countries, already struggle with access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened their situations. Nutor, an assistant professor in the Department of Family Health Care Nursing, examines how the effects of the pandemic are having harmful impacts on this population. (Presentation begins at 23:20 mark)

Sasha Binford, PhD, MS, RN, AGCNS-BC,  an alumna of the School of Nursing and geriatric clinical nurse specialist at UCSF Health, presented on the complexities of delirium and the potential for significant and lasting effects, including developing cognitive impairment in later years. She provides interventions to help prevent and treat delirium. (Presentation begins at 30:46 mark)

Orlando Harris, PhD, MPH, RN, FNP, an assistant professor in the Department of Community Health Systems, discusses his research of sexual and gender minorities in the Caribbean. He advocates that researchers and health providers must  work collaboratively with this population and provide care through a lens of “cultural humility.” (Presentation begins at 37:46 mark)

The event was sponsored by the UCSF School of Nursing, the Associated Students of the School of Nursing, the UCSF Health Department of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau's Alpha Eta Chapter and the UCSF Nursing Alumni Association.