What the nurses learned from COVID-19

Semahat Arsel, Chairwoman, Vehbi Koç Foundation, joined an online event organized by Koç University and Vehbi Koç Foundation Healthcare Institutions to mark Nursing Week 2021. Ms. Arsel celebrated their Nursing Week.

In the first session, Annette Kennedy, President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), noted that COVID-19 brought about a much bigger challenge for healthcare professionals at a time when there was already a shortage of nurses worldwide. According to ICN data from 60 countries, more than 3,000 nurses lost their lives due to COVID-19 during the pandemic.

In the second session, Whende M. Carroll, the founder of Nurse Evolution, a cause-based community that aims to educate nurses on how to expertly use technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and innovation strategies, highlighted the importance of the role nurses play in increasingly digitalized healthcare services. Ms. Carroll added that enhancing the technological competence of nurses will provide valuable contributions to the healthcare system.

Nearly 500 participants from various countries, including Turkey, the USA, Cyprus, Kuwait, Iran, China, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, and the Netherlands, followed the event.