Daniel Suárez-Baquero
Colombian Nurse Dedicated to Reproductive Justice
Daniel Suárez-Baquero was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia where he was inspired to enter nursing in reaction to Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict.*
When you grow up surrounded by war and constant news about death, you become aware that the world needs people able to make a difference representing human dignity and life above everything.
He obtained his Bachelor’s of Nursing (the entry path for all registered nurses in Colombia) from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 2010 and began his career working as a labor and delivery nurse and nurse midwife (known as parteras in Spanish). He became one of the first male nurse in some of the most respected hospitals in Bogotá and served roles as Head Nurse of Neonatology and Labor & Delivery. He went on to earn his Master’s of Nursing in Maternal/Perinatal Nursing Care in 2015, also from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, followed by holding administrative and director roles within maternal health.
In 2018, Dr. Suárez-Baquero relocated to Texas to begin his Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin where he combined his professional path with his academic interests. During his education, he pursued qualitative research on perception of nursing care, nursing epistemology, nursing theory, maternity, and pregnancy. His research interests are framed by women’s reproductive life and health and he focuses his work within Colombia as a means of retribution to women. The long-term goals of Dr. Suárez-Baquero’s career are pregnancy risk reduction for urban/rural ethnic minority women (especially, Afro-descendant and Latina/e) and the decolonization of nursing theory and nursing knowledge. Dr. Suárez-Baquero was awarded his doctorate in May, 2021 and began his post-doctoral work this Fall with the ACTIONS fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, where he continues to study topics that highlight the role of traditional birth attendants like doulas and midwives and collaborate on strategies to advance reproductive justice.
*Colombia’s armed conflict has tentatively culminated under a peace treaty negotiated in 2016.
Further Resources
Watch Dr. Suárez Baquero’s Nurses You Should Know video here and his recent panel conversation on Decolonizing Nursing: What? Why? How? presented by Nursology.
Read Dr. Suárez Baquero’s published articles on what is lost when nursing knowledge is limited to the English language; life history of Colombian doulas; and a qualitative synthesis of rural women in post-conflict Colombia.
Learn about other notable generations of Colombian nurses who created the first Blood Bank, led women’s suffrage, and served as the first South American President for the International Council of Nursing.
Sources
We sourced the above information from Dr. Suárez-Baquero.
Please submit any additional sources or information to us to add via social media or email us at nursesyoushouldknow@gmail.com.
Learn More
To learn more about inclusion in nursing and be part of the national discussion to address racism in nursing, check out and share the following resources:
Know Your History
- Nursing CLIO to engage with historians and scholars committed to deep work around historical accuracy in healthcare and nursing.
- American Association for the History of Nursing to attend monthly webinars on topics of nursing history, view the calendar here.
Examine Bias
- NurseManifest offers live zoom sessions with fellow nurses on nursing’s overdue reckoning on racism and a page to sign their pledge.
- Breaking Bias in Healthcare is an online course created by scientist Anu Gupta, to learn how bias is related to our brain’s neurobiology and can be mitigated with mindfulness.
- Revolutionary Love Learning Hub provides free tools for learners and educators to use love as fuel towards ourselves, our opponents, and to others so that we can embody a world where we see no strangers.
Support & Advocate
- Critical Conversation on Health Equity and Racism Toolkit from the American Academy of Nursing
- National Coalition for Ethnic Minority Nurse Association to stay engaged with topics relevant to nurses of color.
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