Chief Nurse Blog: Nursing Matters November 2021

The ICN virtual Congress was a huge success thanks to our members, speakers and active participants. Enjoy the rich depth and breadth of resource accessible for the next six months. Looking forward to seeing you at the ICN 2023 Congress in in Montreal, Canada, hopefully face to face! This month I wish to spotlight the GCEF & ICNP.

1) Girl Child Education Fund (GCEF)

The Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF) is ICN’s premier foundation, founded in 1934 to support and complement the work and objectives of ICN in the advancement of nursing education, research, services for the public good, and to assist members of the nursing profession who are in need, and their dependents. FNIF’s signature project is the Girl Child Education Fund (GCEF). Orphaned girls are often not given the opportunity to complete their education. Education raises girls from poverty, increases gender equality, leads to economic growth, and decreases gender-based violence.

Since the inception of the GCEF in 2006, over 400 girls have enrolled. Local Nurse Coordinators from ICN National Nursing Associations ensure that the girls are cared for. GCEF has enabled 285 girls to graduate from secondary school, some are now lawyers, teachers, psychologists, accountants, and nurses! GCEF is currently supporting 77 girls in four countries from the sub-Saharan Africa region: Eswatini (Swaziland), Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. An average of 1,400 USD ensures one year of school fees, uniform, shoes and books to an orphaned girl. Please consider donating here. For more information, please visit our site.

2) International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP)

ICN and SNOMED International released a new reference set, the ICNP SNOMED CT Nursing Practice Reference Set, on 21 October 2021. ICN retains ownership of ICNP and the definition of its content so that it meets the needs of the global nursing profession. ICNP standardized terminology, used for more than 30 years, enables nurses to describe and report their practice systematically, including diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. The information is used to support care, effective decision-making and to inform nursing education and health policy. Subject matter experts from both organisations and the ICNP Editorial Board at ICN have informed the decisions about additions and changes to SNOMED CT because of the incorporation of ICNP.

Access within SNOMED International Member countries is provided by the Member National Release Centre in each country, via the relevant Member webpage. Affiliates of SNOMED International in non-Member countries can access the ICNP SNOMED CT Nursing Practice Refset through their Member Licensing Distribution Service (MLDS) account. ICNP and the equivalence tables are also available for download from the ICN website. Visit the ICN pages to learn more about ICN and ICNP. Visit the Our partners page to learn more about SNOMED International collaborations.

Yours in nursing, health, and leadership, Michelle

ICN Chief Nurse Michelle Acorn, DNP, NP PHC/Adult, CGNC, FCAN, FAAN