Marian Nowak and Patricia Sayers, both assistant professors at the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden (N.J.), have been appointed as United Nations delegates by the International Catholic Committee of Nurses and Medico-Social Assistants, according to a news release.

As U.N. delegates, Nowak and Sayers will participate in numerous conferences and workshops centered on global healthcare, and will serve as advisers in the development of various projects to help address the U.N.’s eight Millennium Development Goals. Those goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and create a global partnership for development, according to the release.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for us, but I’m especially excited for our students because this will show them that a nurse’s voice can be heard on an international level and they can make a real difference,” Nowak, DNP, MPH, RN, CSN, FSN, said in the release. “It’s a point of pride for Rutgers–Camden and its students. We’re excited to bring professional nursing perspectives to health issues affecting people around the world.”

Nowak received the Nurse.com 2014 National GEM Award for Volunteerism and Service.

Nowak and Sayers are two of four U.N. delegates from the U.S. appointed by the international committee, which has 60 member countries and is headquartered at The Vatican. The delegation will work to engage healthcare workers, religious leaders and families around the world in a dialogue to help find solutions to worldwide health issues, according to the release.

“This is one of the highest honors in nursing, but it’s also a tremendous opportunity for the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden,” Sayers, DNP, RN, said in the release. “We hope to facilitate contributions from the global CICIAMS membership. In addition, a window of opportunity for our students has opened at the United Nations.”

In November, Nowak and Sayers were among hundreds of healthcare professionals who traveled to Rome to participate in the 29th International Pontifical Conference of Healthcare Workers. The three-day conference provided the Rutgers–Camden scholars with an opportunity to meet with Catholic health leaders in a program planning effort and review international research trends focused on assisting families with children who have autism spectrum disorder, according to the release.

During their stay at the Vatican, Nowak and Sayers shared the “Mind, Body and Spirit” online project developed collaboratively by faculty and students from the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden and the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. This clinical software, titled the “Cultural/Spiritual Toolbox,” provides healthcare workers with a diverse cultural and spiritual reference to assist patient-centered bedside care, according to the release.