Nursing professor ’s visit to United Nations leaves indelible mark

When the UCLA School of Nursing ’s MarySue Heilemann was invited to be a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women earlier this year, she knew it would be a special experience. She just didn’t knowhow special. Or how far-reaching.“It was experience after experience after experience of just being so inspired by the dedicated, talented people who want to improve the conditions of living for women and girls worldwide,” Heilemann said of her time at the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, attended by mo re than 6,000 representatives of member states, UN entities and accredited non-governmental organizations from all over the world.Heilemann ’s route to becoming a delegate to the session was long and unexpected. Several years ago, having published an article on the portrayals of nurses in the media, she was asked to work with a group that wanted to create a television show featuring nurses. The show never came to fruition but one of i ts creators, Sheva Carr, remembered Heilemann’s work and, three years later, asked if she could nominate her to become a delegate through Pathways to Peace, a non-governmental organization whose delegation Carr headed.After a lengthy interview process, Heilemann, associate professor of nursing at UCLA, was accepted and invited to participate in the session ’s film festival and serve on a panel about media portrayals of women.That March week in New York City was a whirlwind for Heilemann, wh...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news