A Group of Modern-day Nightingales Strive to Improve Healthcare with SONSIEL

By Amanda Ghosh via Multibriefs

Rebecca Love, a nurse entrepreneur and TEDx speaker, reminded us by mentioning of the work of Florence Nightingale that it was nurses who transformed the “dark ages” of medicine, and nurses who will likely do so again.

Love is the first nurse to be featured on the main TED.com platform, and her argument was noteworthy. Nurses who feel called to improve healthcare with transformational ideas will be interested in the organization that she, along with other notable "rockstars" — as she calls them — have founded: SONSIEL.

What is SONSIEL?

SONSIEL, which stands for Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders, is a membership-based group for nurses designed to "magnify, network, and elevate the expertise of nurse innovators as transformation agents that contribute to the reform of healthcare."

The group sees nurses as talented thought leaders capable of improving healthcare on a local, regional, national, and even global scale.

SONSIEL is an Associate Member of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations to the United Nations, which means that its members can be part of UN committees and advance healthcare at the global level.

Why Was SONSIEL Created?

SONSIEL seems to be comprised of modern-day Nightingales — nurses who question, defy, and improve the state of healthcare.

Founding members of the organization include Love, the Chief Nursing Officer at Microsoft and the Director of Innovation at the School of Nursing at University of Pennsylvania.

"We already have 800 nursing organizations in the country, but not one of them deals with the issues around the image of nurses in society. I wanted to create a place where nurses would be seen as the experts they are in healthcare," said Love in an interview with Nurse.org.

"These are rockstar nurses who have all challenged the status quo, walked on the edge, done things differently but never could find other nurses like them to say, hey guys, it’s okay to be different in nursing and challenge the status quo and if you want to invent and if you want to start a company, we want to support you because we believe in your vision, we want to support and elevate it."

Based on all that has been written about the group, it seems that SONSIEL was designed to offer support and connection to talented nurses who feel called to make a difference on a broad scale.

Their sold-out event "THINC" lends support to this conclusion as a gathering of speakers, many of whom are nurse leaders, who will discuss how to drive healthcare forward. The event is sold out, but there is a waiting list you can join on the SONSIEL website.

How Will SONSIEL Benefit Nurses and Healthcare?

If you’re a nurse, you already know that you are part of the largest group of workers in healthcare. You understand the problems patients face, and you find it challenging to share and implement your ideas.

SONSIEL tries to solve these problems by creating opportunities for you and recognition for nurse innovators.Nursing groups and organizations are positioned to influence solutions and take their rightful place as thought leaders.

Who Can Join SONSIEL?

Membership is open to anyone. Those interested can explore the group on their website at www.sonsiel.com.

Modern-Day Nightingales Take Flight

Florence Nightingale changed the field of medicine forever in her time. Though protocol is a necessary part of healthcare, we need modern-day Nightingales to dream beyond the status quo and insist on transforming healthcare with life-saving ideas and solutions.

Evolution is a fact of life. The evolution of healthcare will undoubtedly come once again from nurses who are closest to the problems and brave enough to challenge them.

Amanda Ghosh, MS, BA, is a freelance writer pursuing her third degree, a BS in nursing. Previously she studied nutrition and journalism. She has worked as a Wellness Director and Adjunct Instructor. Amanda’s writing focuses on nursing and the healthcare industry. To inquire about her services as a writer or healthcare journalist, please email her at ghoshamanda@gmail.com.