Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde played a key role in the 1975 establishment of NAHN. Ildaura was worried that the American Nurse Association (ANA), of which she was an active member, was not providing for the needs of Latino nurses. Her goal was to help Latinas obtain their education so they could serve their communities and better themselves.
Dr. Rohde was born on September 6th, 1920, in Panama, and he immigrated to the United States in 1945. Her nursing career began in San Antonio, Texas, a city with a sizable Hispanic population. She discovered that the town lacked many Hispanic nurses. This event strengthened her resolve to enrol in Columbia University in New York and pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. She pursued her study further and graduated from New York University with a Master’s and a Doctorate.Dr. Rohde obtained a federal position overseeing funding for research and education in the 1970s. She had the same experience as in San Antonio: there were no Latina nurses working in academic settings, conducting research, or making public policy. This gave her the inspiration to bring about change.
Founding of NAHN
In an effort to better serve the needs of Hispanic nurses within the American Nurses Association (ANA), Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde and other Hispanic nurses first met during the ANA Convention in Atlantic City in 1974. However, the leadership at the time rejected the idea of forming a Hispanic Nurses Caucus. It was resolved to form their own National Association of Spanish-Speaking Spanish-Surnamed Nurses (NASSSN) by the meeting that followed in San Francisco in 1976, with Dr. Murillo-Rohde acting as its founding president. Their name was changed to the National Association of Hispanic Nurses in 1979, and in 2002 the group published Hispanic Health Care International, a bilingual professional journal with peer review.
Dr. Rohde received a Fellowship from the American Academy of Nursing, one of nursing’s highest awards. She was Dean and Professor Emeritus of the SUNY School of Nursing in Brooklyn, New York, and had been actively involved in nursing throughout her career. Among her other achievements was being chosen as the International Federation of Business and Professional Women’s permanent delegate to UNICEF, New York.
Dr. Rohde’s was always present during NAHN conferences until her health stopped her, and she always wore an orchid that her members sent her.
To recognise NAHN members who have excelled in any field of scholarship and/or nursing education, the Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde Award for Education Excellence by a Hispanic R.N. is given. Outstanding contributions to nursing education, research, and practise, a commitment to nursing excellence, and exceptional clinical experience are requirements for this honour.
The Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde Scholarship is another benefit provided by NAHN to Hispanic students engaged in nursing programmes that lead to licensure.
The NAHN has decided to recognise and honour this nurse for her accomplishments and commitment. Everyone who knew Dr. Rohde was inspired by her.
In her native Panama, Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde passed away on September 5, 2010.
Today, the Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde Award for Education Excellence by a Hispanic R.N. honors NAHN members who have made outstanding contributions in nursing education, research and practice.
Since its foundation, NAHN has made significant efforts to enhance the quality of treatment and results for the Hispanic community in the US. The association now offers a scholarship to Hispanic students participating in nursing schools that lead to licensure as well as an award for excellence in nursing practise, research, and scholarship.
Hispanic Health Care International, another publication of NAHN, presents research and scholarly work on topics important to both US and international Hispanic communities. Former HHCI editor-in-chief Judith Aponte is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Hunter College and a 2012 NYAM Fellow.
In addition to being the organization’s founder and first president, Murillo-Rohde was a specialist in marriage and family therapy, psychotherapy, and she held a number of administrative positions in higher education, including dean of the college of nursing at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. By serving as the Guatemalan government’s WHO psychiatric adviser and launching a pilot programme to train staff in psychiatric treatment, Murillo-effect Rohde’s was felt globally as well. Additionally, she represented the International Federation of Business and Professional Women as Permanent UN Representative to UNICEF. At the age of 89, Murillo-Rohde passed away in her native Panama in 2010.
