The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a 501(c)(6) professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911. It is based in Silver Spring, Maryland and Jennifer Mensik Kennedy is the current president.
Dame Ruth Nita Barrow, GCMG DA was the first female governor-general of Barbados. Barrow was a nurse and a public health servant from Barbados. She served as the fifth governor-general of Barbados from 6 June 1990 until her death on 19 December 1995. She was the older sister of Errol Barrow, the first prime minister of Barbados.
International Nurses Day (IND) is an international day observed around the world on 12 May each year, to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for health care professionals. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Christine Hancock was the General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing from 1989 to 2001.
Dame Sheila Margaret Imelda Quinn, DBE, FRCN, RGN, RM, RNT, was a British nurse and fellow of the Royal College of Nursing. She was president of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) from 1982 to 1986. She was awarded an RCN Fellowship (FRCN) in 1978.
Virginia Avenel Henderson was an American nurse, researcher, theorist, and writer.
Margretta (Gretta) Madden Styles, EdD, RN, FAAN was an American nurse, author, educator and nursing school dean who conceived and helped establish national standards for certifying nurses in pediatrics, cardiology and other medical specialties. Dr. Styles was the president of the American Nurses Association from 1986 to 1988, and wrote five books and many articles published in medical journals.
Jessie Bicknell was a New Zealand civilian and military nurse, and a health administrator. She served in World War I and was made an Associate of the Royal Red Cross for her service.
Margaret Rachel Huxley (1854–1940) was an English nurse who introduced structured, scientific nursing training in Ireland. Her initiatives led to the establishment of the first nursing school in Dublin. She was involved in numerous organisations promoting professionalism in nursing and campaigning for nurse registration throughout the British Isles.
Helga Charlotte Norrie, née Harbou, was a Danish nurse, women's rights activist and educator. She was a major contributor to the development of nursing as an acceptable profession for women and also campaigned for women's rights, especially voting rights.
Take Hagiwara (1873-1936) was a Japanese nurse, trained by the Red Cross, and sometimes referred to as the "Japanese Nightingale". She graduated from nursing school in 1897 and after touring Europe and studying hospitals there, was appointed as the first commoner to direct the Japanese Red Cross. In 1920, she led a successful campaign to assist Polish orphans who had become refugees in Siberia and that same year was one of the inaugural recipients of the Florence Nightingale Medal. She served as an honorary delegate to the International Council of Nurses (ICN) for 22 years before she was able to found the Nursing Association of the Japanese Empire in 1929 and gain full admission to the ICN in 1933. She was the Superintendent of Nursing for the Japanese Red Cross for 36 years.
Ellen Johanne Broe (1900–1994) was a Danish nurse who spent several decades working and seeking education abroad before returning to Denmark and helping to establish educational and training initiatives in Denmark. She helped draft minimum curriculum requirements for nursing students, as well as continuing education guidelines. She was active in the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and sought to find ways to bring nursing education to developing areas most in need of trained nursing staff. She received the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1961 for her contributions to nursing excellence.
Eunice Muringo Kiereini is a retired nurse who was Kenya's Chief Nursing Officer from 1968 to 1986, with responsibility for overseeing and developing nursing in Kenya after independence. She has served in many different health organisations, at home and abroad, and was the first African president of the International Council of Nurses (ICN).
Nina Gage was an American nurse who was a leading teacher of modern nursing in China, and ran a nursing school in Hunan province. She was president of the International Council of Nurses from 1925 to 1929. After returning from China to the US in 1927 she held various senior nursing posts in nursing education. Professionally she was also known as Nina D. Gage.
Kirsten Stallknecht was a Danish nurse who served as President of the International Council of Nurses. She received the 2013 Christiane Reimann prize from the ICN.
Annette Kennedy is an Irish nurse and Past President of the International Council of Nurses from 2017 to 2021.
Nelly Garzón Alarcón was a Colombian nurse and teacher, recognized as the first Latin American nurse to be president of the International Council of Nurses (ICN). In her day, she was one of the Colombian women who had the greatest relevance in science at the international level.
Daisy Caroline Bridges CBE was a nurse, midwife and British nursing administrator. In 1961 retired as the ICN's General Secretary and in 1967 she published a history of the International Council of Nurses.
