Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde: Google Doodle celebrates Panamanian-American nurse in honor of U.S. Hispanic Heritage Month

Google Doodle celebrates a Panamanian-American nurse, academic and organizational administrator Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde, the first Hispanic nurse awarded a Ph.D. from New York University (NYU), in celebration of U.S. Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15, 2021.

Who was Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde?

Ildaura Murillo-Rohde was born on September 6, 1920, in Panama into a family of health professionals. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde dedicated her life to giving care to individuals from the Hispanic community as well as ensuring others were prepared to do as such too.

She went to the United States in 1945. Her nursing career started in a to a great extent Hispanic populated city of San Antonio, Texas. She found that there were not many Hispanic nurses in the community. This experience elevated her assurance to get a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing at New York’s Columbia University. She proceeded with her education and got a Master’s and Doctorate degrees at New York University.

During the 1970s Dr. Rohde got a government position reviewing research and educational grants. She experienced a similar experience as in San Antonio, with no Latina nurses in academic settings in research or public policy, and she was motivated to make a change.

In 1971, Murillo-Rohde was the first Hispanic nurse awarded a Ph.D. from New York University (NYU). Dr. Rohde achieved one of nursing’s highest honors, that of a Fellowship from the American Academy of Nursing. Continuously active in nursing, serving as faculty, then as a professor, at that point as Dean of Nursing at SUNY, in Brooklyn, New York, she was Dean and Professor Emeritus of SUNY’s School of Nursing. Among her different honors was being named as a permanent representative to UNICEF, New York, for the Intl. Federation of Business and Professional Woman.

Murillo-Rohde became an associate dean at the University of Washington and was the first Hispanic nursing dean at NYU. Murillo-Rohde established the National Association of Spanish-Speaking Spanish-Surnamed Nurses (NASSSN), known as the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) after 1979, and served as its first president. In 1991, David Dinkins named Murillo-Rohde to a commission that analyzed the quality of care at New York City hospitals. In 1994, she was named a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing.

Until ill health prevented her, Dr. Rohde was consistently present amidst NAHN conferences, and she generally wore an orchid which her members gave.

Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde died on September 5, 2010, in her native land of Panama.

NAHN awards a scholarship and an educational excellence award in her honor. The Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde Award for Education Excellence by a Hispanic R.N. is introduced to honor NAHN members who have separated themselves in any scholarship area and/or nursing education. Qualifications for this award include extraordinary contributions for nursing education, research, and practice; perceived commitment to excellence in nursing; and recognized clinical expertise.

What’s more, NAHN offers the Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde Scholarship for Hispanic students selected a nursing program prompting licensure.

NAHN has decided to honor and celebrate this nurse for her achievements and dedication. Dr. Rohde consistently inspired all who knew her.

Google Doodle for Celebrating Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde

On September 15, 2021, Google featured Doodle on its homepage for celebrating Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde.

Wednesday denotes the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, and to start it off, Google will dedicate its Doodle to the Panamanian American nurse and educator. Murillo-Rohde specialized in psychiatric nursing, however, she was additionally an academic and organizational administrator. She established the National Association of Hispanic Nurses in 1975 and served as a World Health Organization consultant to Guatemala, among her numerous achievements.

Running from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 every year, National Hispanic Heritage Month perceives and celebrates the cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans. In earlier years, Google has likewise honored Puerto Rican civil rights pioneer Felicitas Mendez, Mexican American botanist Ynes Mexía and baseball incredible and philanthropic Roberto Clemente.

Los Angeles-based guest artist Loris Lora, who made Wednesday’s Google Doodle, says the artwork highlights colors propelled by Latin American textiles, as well as the orchid, which Murillo-Rohde was known to wear at nursing conferences. Lora, whose own sister recently became a nurse, said she trusts individuals will be motivated to find out with regards to Murillo-Rohde’s achievements and her impact on the Hispanic nursing community.