Welcome to The Sound of Science from WNIJ and NIU STEAM. It’s a weekly series explaining important STEM concepts. Today’s hosts are Jeremy Benson and Newt Likier.
September 15th kicks off National Hispanic Heritage Month, and we’re celebrating by taking a look at some of the great Hispanic thinkers involved in science, technology, engineering, art, or math.
Our first subject is Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde, an advocate for cultural competence in nursing and healthcare. She was born in Panama on September 6, 1920 and moved to the United States in 1945 where she pursued her education.
She achieved a Bachelors, a Masters, and an MEd from Columbia University. In 1971, she also received a PhD from New York University, making her the first Hispanic nurse to do so in NYU’s history. During her education and practice, she noticed a concerning disparity in the community and among her colleagues.
Despite a large population of Hispanic people in need of healthcare, there were not very many Hispanic nurses. Moreover, there were few Hispanic nurses involved in policy making or research. However, language barriers and cultural differences can lead to less-than-optimal outcomes, especially in healthcare.
She recognized that being culturally competent played an important role in improving health outcomes. To help change things, Murillo-Rohde helped found the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. The mission of this association is to advance the health in Hispanic communities and to lead, promote and advocate the educational, professional, and leadership opportunities for Hispanic nurses.
She not only helped found NAHN, but she also was its first president. She spent her life working towards a more equitable future and was named a permanent representative to UNICEF. Her impact on others and her achievements in the world of nursing and healthcare are too numerous to list, but NAHN presents the Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde Award for Education Excellence by a Hispanic R.N. to those members with outstanding contributions in nursing education, research, and practice.
She passed away at the age of 89 in 2010 in Panama, but her legacy continues. The Sound of Science honors her contributions!
This has been the Sound of Science on WNIJ, where you learn something new every day.
