- Email: [email protected]
IWY: Coffee klatsch or focus for change?
Editorial
IW: Coffee klatsch or focus for change? Was International Women’s Year (IWY) simply a giant coffee klatsch on an international scale? Or will it change women’s role in society? Designated by the United Nations “to focus worldwide attention on the status of women,” IWY this month honors nursing, a profession much shaped by women’s position in society and a profession whose leaders have been active in the struggle for women’s rights. IWY might have slipped by almost unnoticed except for the two-week long conference in Mexico City in June attended by more than 6,000 delegates, not all of them women, from 123 nations. In establishing 1975 as International Women’s Year, the United Nations listed three main objectives: to promote equality between men and women to ensure the full participationof women in all aspects of national and international life, or what it calls “integration into development” to recognize the contribution of women to the promotion of friendly relations and cooperation among nations and world peace.
Bd
Or, stated more succinctly, equality, development, and peace. These are lofty goals implying full citizenship for women in national and international affairs of their countries. But reaching such ideals often starts with something as simple as freeing women from the task of carrying water. In some areas of Africa, women spend as much as four hours a day to obtain water for their families’ daily needs. The introduction to the World Plan of Action, ratified at the conference, acknowledged that “there are significant differences in the status of women in different countries and regions of the world which are rooted in the political, economic, and social structure; the cultural framework and the level of development of each country; and in the social category of women within a given country.” There were interesting contrasts presented at the Mexico meeting. In Cameroon, emancipation for women means a free choice of marriage partners. A marriage reform law in 1966 put a ceiling on bride price and permitted young people to marry without parental consent provided the bride price was right. In contrast, in Sweden the government encourages women to play a more active role outside the home and encourages men to spend more time at home with their children. Parental leave after the birth of a child can be divided between the parents and the parent who takes the leave is entitled to 90% of normal income. The Plan of Action is a 46-page document of guidelines directed at national govern-
AORN Journal, November 1975,Vol2.2, No 5
687
ments, regional and international bodies to accelerate women’s full participation in economic, social, political, and cultural life. Of course, these official bodies are under no obligation to pay any attention to it. IWY may help to renew interest in the women’s movement, which was strong in the 1960s, but appears to have lost its vitality. The Equal Rights Amendment, hardly a radical step ahead for women, is slowly being talked to death in state legislatures. I have been surprised by the apparent lack of interest among nurses in the women’s movement. At a recent nursing conference, I attended one session entitled rather conservatively, “Changing roles of women in society-implications for nursing education.” The program description packed a bit more pow-”discussion will center on nursing as a classical example of the exploitation of women and how the achievement of rightful power for women will free nurses from patterns of exploitation.” The session attracted only a small but vocal group. Others may have been turned off by the program description. The same rhetoric punctuated the session with phrases like “oppression,” “exploitation,” and “god-like physician.” Yet despite its sometimes abrasive language, the women’s movement is influencing nursing as much today as it did in the earlier days. In the mid 1800s, the most effective leadership for reform in nursing practice came from women interested in the struggle for women’s rights.’ Their interest was twofold; they wanted better patient care but they were also interested in widening occupational horizons for women. At the birth of the American women’s right movement in Seneca Falls in 1848, the general platform included a statement about women’s right to enter the various professions, including medicine. The women influential in establishing the first nurse training schools, among them Elizabeth Blackwell and Marie Zahtzewska, were directly involved in the struggle for women’s rights. tavinia Dock, an early nursing leader, went to jail three times as part of her activities to secure the right to vote for women. Today’s changes in nursing are a reflection of the current role of women in society. The
688
increased independence of nursing practice and its delineation as a profession in its own right rather than as an appendage of medicine, the increased willingness of nurses to assert leadership in health care are occurring in a climate of greater equality for women. IWY provided a forum for women from all over the world to talk, to share, to explore their common problems. Whether it was only a coffee klatsch, or whether it will have historic significance in the women’s movement depends on what women throughout the world do to carry out its goals.
Elinor
S Schrader Editor
Notes 1 . Vern L Bullough, Bonnie Bullough, The €mergence of Modern Nursing (Macmillan Co, 1969) 121.
Women excluded in health care decisions In the US, although women make up 75% or some three million of the health care workers, they have little representation among the physicians and administrators who make policy and decisions. More than 250 women attending the International Conference on Women in Health, sponsored by the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s Health Resources Administration, discussed four main concerns: approaches to correct the underrepresentationof women in health professions ways to improve the use of women in health occupations in which they are well represented new roles for women in health care women’s role in health care decision making. In summarizing the conference, Mary C Howell, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard University, asserted that because most direct health care services in the US are provided by women, “we want recognition of that reality in policy determination.”
AORN Journal, November 1975, Vol22, No 5
New opportunities for training in primary care The Division of Nursing of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has awarded 15 additional contracts totaling nearly $3V2 million to prepare registered nurses for primary care. These are two-year training contracts to institute programs combining didactic instruction with clinical practicum in a service setting. Nine are for updating the primary care skills of an estimated 300 teachers in baccalaureate and higher degree schools of nursing. The institutions offering preparation in primary care for nurse faculty are emphasizing the teaching of primary care skills and are expecting their faculty member trainees to combine teaching with clinical practice on a continuing basis. The remaining six contracts are for training an estimated 240 geriatric nurse practitioners particularly for service in medically disadvantaged areas. The training supported by the new geriatric nurse practitioner contracts centers on the primary care of elderly people and also of less elderly adults who have chronic health problems. Preparation in primary care for nurse faculty is being offered by the graduate schools of nursing at the University of California, Los Angeles; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland: University of Illinois, Chicago: Indiana University, Indianapolis: University of Iowa, Iowa City; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa; University of Rochester, Rochester, NY; University of Virginia, Charlottesville; State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo. The following schools of nursing at the institutions listed are providing training to prepare geriatric nurse practitioners: University of Miami, Miami, Fla; Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago; University of Lowell, Lowell, Mass (master's program); SUNY, Buffalo; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Wisconsin, Madison.
COMPLETE PRODUCT INFORMATION
VlCRY L?
(Polyglactin 910) Synthetic Absorbable Suture
DESCRIPTION VICRYL (polyglactin 91 0) synthetic absorbable suture is prepared from a copolymer of glycolide and lactide These substancesare derived respehely from glycolic and lactic acids The empirical formula of the coPolymer is ( C 2 H 2 0 M C 4 i 4 0 d n VICRYL sutures are sterile inert nonantigenic nonpyrogen ic and elicit only a mild tissue reaction during absorption These sutures are braided for optimum handling properties The suture iscolored violet to enhancevisibility in tissue and it is alsb available undyed (natural) ACTIONS Two important characteristics describe the in vivo behawor of absorbable sutures first tensile strength retention and second the absorption rate (loss of mass) Subculaneous tissue implantation studies of VICRYL suture in rats show at two weeks post-implantation approximately 55% 01 its original tensile strength remains while at three weeks approximately20%of its originalstrength is retained Intramuscular implantation studies in rats show that the ab sorption of VICRYL suture is minimal until about the 40th post implantation day Absorption is essentially complete between the 60th and 90th days INDICATIONS VICRYL synthetic absorbable suture is in tended for use as an absorbable suture or ligature CONTRAINDICATIONS This suture baing absorbable should not be used whereextended approximation of tissues under stress is required VICRYL suture is contraindicatedforuse in the urinarytract WARNINGS Thesafety and effectivenessof VICRYL(polyglactin 910) suture in neural tissue and in cardiovascular surgery have not been established Under certairi circumstances notably orlhopedic proce dures immobilization by external support may be employed at the discretion of the surgeon Do not resterilize PRECAUTIONS VICRYL suture knots must be properly placed to be secure Place the first throw in precise position for the final knot using a double loop tie the second throw square using horizontal tension additional throws are advisable Skin sutures remaining in place longer than 7 days may cause localized irritation and should be removed as indicated Acceptable surgical practice must be followed with respect to drainage and closure of infected wounds ADVERSE REACTIONS Reactions reoorled in clinical tri&wnlch m 4 havebeen s ~ t u r e related have been minimal (less than 1 89%) These inc.ude skin redness and indura lion. rare nstances ot hemorrhage. anastomotic leasage. and abscesses DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Use as required per operation HOW SUPPLIED VICRYL sutures are available sterile. as braided dyed (violet) and undyed (natural)strands in sizes 3 to 8-0 in a variety of lengths, with and without needles, and on LIGAPAK' ligating reels
ETHICON 690
AORN Journal, November 1975, Vol22, NO 5
IW: Coffee klatsch or focus for change? Was International Women’s Year (IWY) simply a giant coffee klatsch on an international scale? Or will it change women’s role in society? Designated by the United Nations “to focus worldwide attention on the status of women,” IWY this month honors nursing, a profession much shaped by women’s position in society and a profession whose leaders have been active in the struggle for women’s rights. IWY might have slipped by almost unnoticed except for the two-week long conference in Mexico City in June attended by more than 6,000 delegates, not all of them women, from 123 nations. In establishing 1975 as International Women’s Year, the United Nations listed three main objectives: to promote equality between men and women to ensure the full participationof women in all aspects of national and international life, or what it calls “integration into development” to recognize the contribution of women to the promotion of friendly relations and cooperation among nations and world peace.
Bd
Or, stated more succinctly, equality, development, and peace. These are lofty goals implying full citizenship for women in national and international affairs of their countries. But reaching such ideals often starts with something as simple as freeing women from the task of carrying water. In some areas of Africa, women spend as much as four hours a day to obtain water for their families’ daily needs. The introduction to the World Plan of Action, ratified at the conference, acknowledged that “there are significant differences in the status of women in different countries and regions of the world which are rooted in the political, economic, and social structure; the cultural framework and the level of development of each country; and in the social category of women within a given country.” There were interesting contrasts presented at the Mexico meeting. In Cameroon, emancipation for women means a free choice of marriage partners. A marriage reform law in 1966 put a ceiling on bride price and permitted young people to marry without parental consent provided the bride price was right. In contrast, in Sweden the government encourages women to play a more active role outside the home and encourages men to spend more time at home with their children. Parental leave after the birth of a child can be divided between the parents and the parent who takes the leave is entitled to 90% of normal income. The Plan of Action is a 46-page document of guidelines directed at national govern-
AORN Journal, November 1975,Vol2.2, No 5
687
ments, regional and international bodies to accelerate women’s full participation in economic, social, political, and cultural life. Of course, these official bodies are under no obligation to pay any attention to it. IWY may help to renew interest in the women’s movement, which was strong in the 1960s, but appears to have lost its vitality. The Equal Rights Amendment, hardly a radical step ahead for women, is slowly being talked to death in state legislatures. I have been surprised by the apparent lack of interest among nurses in the women’s movement. At a recent nursing conference, I attended one session entitled rather conservatively, “Changing roles of women in society-implications for nursing education.” The program description packed a bit more pow-”discussion will center on nursing as a classical example of the exploitation of women and how the achievement of rightful power for women will free nurses from patterns of exploitation.” The session attracted only a small but vocal group. Others may have been turned off by the program description. The same rhetoric punctuated the session with phrases like “oppression,” “exploitation,” and “god-like physician.” Yet despite its sometimes abrasive language, the women’s movement is influencing nursing as much today as it did in the earlier days. In the mid 1800s, the most effective leadership for reform in nursing practice came from women interested in the struggle for women’s rights.’ Their interest was twofold; they wanted better patient care but they were also interested in widening occupational horizons for women. At the birth of the American women’s right movement in Seneca Falls in 1848, the general platform included a statement about women’s right to enter the various professions, including medicine. The women influential in establishing the first nurse training schools, among them Elizabeth Blackwell and Marie Zahtzewska, were directly involved in the struggle for women’s rights. tavinia Dock, an early nursing leader, went to jail three times as part of her activities to secure the right to vote for women. Today’s changes in nursing are a reflection of the current role of women in society. The
688
increased independence of nursing practice and its delineation as a profession in its own right rather than as an appendage of medicine, the increased willingness of nurses to assert leadership in health care are occurring in a climate of greater equality for women. IWY provided a forum for women from all over the world to talk, to share, to explore their common problems. Whether it was only a coffee klatsch, or whether it will have historic significance in the women’s movement depends on what women throughout the world do to carry out its goals.
Elinor
S Schrader Editor
Notes 1 . Vern L Bullough, Bonnie Bullough, The €mergence of Modern Nursing (Macmillan Co, 1969) 121.
Women excluded in health care decisions In the US, although women make up 75% or some three million of the health care workers, they have little representation among the physicians and administrators who make policy and decisions. More than 250 women attending the International Conference on Women in Health, sponsored by the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s Health Resources Administration, discussed four main concerns: approaches to correct the underrepresentationof women in health professions ways to improve the use of women in health occupations in which they are well represented new roles for women in health care women’s role in health care decision making. In summarizing the conference, Mary C Howell, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard University, asserted that because most direct health care services in the US are provided by women, “we want recognition of that reality in policy determination.”
AORN Journal, November 1975, Vol22, No 5
New opportunities for training in primary care The Division of Nursing of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has awarded 15 additional contracts totaling nearly $3V2 million to prepare registered nurses for primary care. These are two-year training contracts to institute programs combining didactic instruction with clinical practicum in a service setting. Nine are for updating the primary care skills of an estimated 300 teachers in baccalaureate and higher degree schools of nursing. The institutions offering preparation in primary care for nurse faculty are emphasizing the teaching of primary care skills and are expecting their faculty member trainees to combine teaching with clinical practice on a continuing basis. The remaining six contracts are for training an estimated 240 geriatric nurse practitioners particularly for service in medically disadvantaged areas. The training supported by the new geriatric nurse practitioner contracts centers on the primary care of elderly people and also of less elderly adults who have chronic health problems. Preparation in primary care for nurse faculty is being offered by the graduate schools of nursing at the University of California, Los Angeles; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland: University of Illinois, Chicago: Indiana University, Indianapolis: University of Iowa, Iowa City; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa; University of Rochester, Rochester, NY; University of Virginia, Charlottesville; State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo. The following schools of nursing at the institutions listed are providing training to prepare geriatric nurse practitioners: University of Miami, Miami, Fla; Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Center, Chicago; University of Lowell, Lowell, Mass (master's program); SUNY, Buffalo; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Wisconsin, Madison.
COMPLETE PRODUCT INFORMATION
VlCRY L?
(Polyglactin 910) Synthetic Absorbable Suture
DESCRIPTION VICRYL (polyglactin 91 0) synthetic absorbable suture is prepared from a copolymer of glycolide and lactide These substancesare derived respehely from glycolic and lactic acids The empirical formula of the coPolymer is ( C 2 H 2 0 M C 4 i 4 0 d n VICRYL sutures are sterile inert nonantigenic nonpyrogen ic and elicit only a mild tissue reaction during absorption These sutures are braided for optimum handling properties The suture iscolored violet to enhancevisibility in tissue and it is alsb available undyed (natural) ACTIONS Two important characteristics describe the in vivo behawor of absorbable sutures first tensile strength retention and second the absorption rate (loss of mass) Subculaneous tissue implantation studies of VICRYL suture in rats show at two weeks post-implantation approximately 55% 01 its original tensile strength remains while at three weeks approximately20%of its originalstrength is retained Intramuscular implantation studies in rats show that the ab sorption of VICRYL suture is minimal until about the 40th post implantation day Absorption is essentially complete between the 60th and 90th days INDICATIONS VICRYL synthetic absorbable suture is in tended for use as an absorbable suture or ligature CONTRAINDICATIONS This suture baing absorbable should not be used whereextended approximation of tissues under stress is required VICRYL suture is contraindicatedforuse in the urinarytract WARNINGS Thesafety and effectivenessof VICRYL(polyglactin 910) suture in neural tissue and in cardiovascular surgery have not been established Under certairi circumstances notably orlhopedic proce dures immobilization by external support may be employed at the discretion of the surgeon Do not resterilize PRECAUTIONS VICRYL suture knots must be properly placed to be secure Place the first throw in precise position for the final knot using a double loop tie the second throw square using horizontal tension additional throws are advisable Skin sutures remaining in place longer than 7 days may cause localized irritation and should be removed as indicated Acceptable surgical practice must be followed with respect to drainage and closure of infected wounds ADVERSE REACTIONS Reactions reoorled in clinical tri&wnlch m 4 havebeen s ~ t u r e related have been minimal (less than 1 89%) These inc.ude skin redness and indura lion. rare nstances ot hemorrhage. anastomotic leasage. and abscesses DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Use as required per operation HOW SUPPLIED VICRYL sutures are available sterile. as braided dyed (violet) and undyed (natural)strands in sizes 3 to 8-0 in a variety of lengths, with and without needles, and on LIGAPAK' ligating reels
ETHICON 690
AORN Journal, November 1975, Vol22, NO 5