Introduction
Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde (September 6, 1920 – September 5, 2010) was a Panamanian-American nurse who had a significant contribution to the American Nurse Association. Dr. Ildaura Murillo Rohde Ph.D., RN, FAAN was a visionary who contributed immensely to the emancipation of other Latinas like herself and helped them achieve a higher degree of education than was prevalent at the time. She is an exemplary figure who helped thousands of women during her lifetime. All of these women owe it all to her selfless and dedicated philanthropy.
Dr Ildaura Murillo-Rohde Phd, RN, FAAN Education
Dr Ildaura Murillo-Rohde was born on the 6th of September, 1920 and at 25 years of age, she came to America in 1945. Here, she earned a nursing diploma from the Medical and Surgical Hospital School of Nursing in 1948. She went on to procure an undergraduate degree in the teaching and supervision of psychiatric nursing from the prestigious Teachers College, Columbia University in New York. Dr. Murillo-Rohde further earned a postgraduate degree in teaching and curriculum development and an M.Ed in education and administration from her alma mater. In 1971, she was honored with a PhD and became the first Hispanic nurse to obtain so, from New York University.
Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde PhD, RN, FAAN Accomplishments
Dr. Murillo Rohde started her career as a faculty and went on to become an associate Dean at the University of Washington. She held important academic posts throughout her career at several universities. Dr. Murillo-Rohde was appointed the nursing Dean at NYU and was the first Hispanic woman to achieve this. She was also the Dean at SUNY’s School of Nursing located in Brooklyn. Later on, she went on to become a World Health Organization consultant to the government of Taiwan in recognition of her excellent credentials and dedicated years of service to the world of nursing.
Furthermore, she was appointed a permanent UN Representative to UNICEF for the International Federation of Business and Professional Women. Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde dedicated her life to uplifting her community and her service in this regard is unparalleled. As a human being, she understood the importance of culture and community and how a nurse must at once be beyond that and ingrained into it as well.
Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde also founded the National Association of Spanish-Speaking Spanish-Surnamed Nurses (NASSSN) which came to be known as the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) after 1979 and served as its first president. In the year of 1991, Dr. Murillo-Rohde was appointed to a commission by the then-mayor of New York, which evaluated the quality of medical care at hospitals in New York. She was further named a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing in the year of 1994.
Conclusion
Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde was a figure of exemplary diligence and principles who gave her whole life to the improvement of the standards of living of Hispanic women. As a founding figure of NAHN, she evaluated the performance of Hispanic nurses and helped them attain a degree of excellence and professionalism. The NAHN gives out an educational excellence award and a scholarship in her name every year to this date. It is given to nurses who have made notable contributions to the field of nursing education. Furthermore, NAHN runs the Hispanic Health Care International which conducts scholarships for research work. Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde left this world on the 5th of September, 2010, a day before her 90th birthday. However, her work and organization live on, and she continues to inspire contemporary women to rise and achieve greatness in their lives as well.
