CNET: Google Doodle honors nursing leader Ildaura Murillo-Rohde
CNET reported that the Doodle marked the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Its piece also noted that the Panamanian-American nursing pioneer stressed cultural awareness in care, founded the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, and became the first Hispanic nursing dean at New York University.
September 14, 2021 – Today CNET reported that Google would mark the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month by using its Doodle to honor Panamanian-Amercan nursing leader Ildaura Murillo-Rohde. Artist Loris Lora created the Doodle, which centers on Murillo-Rohde, looking kind yet authoritative with a white coat, stethoscope, and clipboard, amid scenes of patients and nurses of color, with additional clipboards and another stethoscope. Those elements at least hint at nursing as a knowledge profession.
Steven Musil’s CNET piece on the Doodle includes substantial detail about Murillo-Rohde’s career, which he notes stressed the importance of cultural awareness in providing nursing care. The article says that Murillo-Rohde was born in Panama in 1920 but emigrated to the U.S. in 1945, starting her nursing career in San Antonio, Texas. Although San Antonio had a large Hispanic population, Murillo-Rohde found few nurses from that community, so she worked to recruit more. She also earned an undergraduate degree in “the teaching and supervision of psychiatric nursing,” as well as master’s degrees in “teaching and curriculum development” and “education and administration.”
Murillo later became an academic and policy leader. She founded the National Association of Hispanic Nurses in 1975, became the first Hispanic nursing dean at New York University, and consulted for the World Health Organization.
The piece closes with a few notes about Lora, the L.A.-based artist who created the Doodle. She explains that she included orchids because that was a flower Murillo-Rohde would wear at nursing conferences, and that she loves “highlighting minority women who have helped their community.”
We thank those responsible for the Doodle and the CNET piece.
See the article by Steven Musil, “Google Doodle celebrates Panamanian American nurse Ildaura Murillo-Rohde: Google kicks off National Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring a devoted nurse and educator,” published on September 14, 2021 on the CNET site.
Also see the Newsweek article “Who Was Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde? Google Doodle Celebrates Panamian-American Nurse,” by Soo Kim, published on September 15, 2021.
