To The Leader

The 2018 Leaders and Legends of Texas Nursing are: Carolyn Gunning, PhD, RN, Dean, College of Nursing Texas Woman’s University (retired); Lucy Norris, MSN, RN, Chief Nurse Executive for MultiCare Health System, South King Region; Elizabeth Sjoberg, JD, RN , Associate General Counsel, Texas Hospital Association (retired); and Patricia S. Yoder-Wise, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN , Principal, The Wise Group and Professor and Dean Emerita, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing (Lubbock).

In addition to these living legends the TNA/TNF will also posthumously recognize Brigadier General Lillian Dunlap, USA (retired), 14th Chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps; Shirley Finn, PhD, RN, Chair of Texarkana College Health Occupations; and Mildred Hogstel, PhD, RN, emeritus faculty member at Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Texas Christian University.

“The license you receive now is an inherited privilege made possible by the vision and tenacity of the nurses who came before you.  It is a gift – something precious that should be cherished, protected and nurtured”, said Kim Belcik, PhD, RN, CNE, President of the Texas Nurses Foundation (TNF), the charitable arm of the Texas Nurses Association.

In 1907, there was a growing concern throughout the country that nurses should be registered in the state in which they were actively working, and that professional, education, and ethical qualifications should be standardized.  In this environment, nineteen nurses gathered in Ft. Worth, Texas to create the Texas Graduate Nurses’ Association, which later became the Texas Nurses Association.

On April 13, 2018 nurses will gather in Arlington, Texas to honor the third class of the Leaders and Legends of Texas Nursing.  Nurses who have taken seriously the obligation to protect their professional inheritance and have left indelible marks as Texas Nurses.  Nurses who ensured that future generations will enjoy education and practice environments with standards of practice that allow them to care for their patients to the best of their ability.

 

The Texas Nurses Foundation, the charitable arm of the Texas Nurses Association, helps to support a variety of programs including Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses, Texas Team, Nurses Helping Nurses, and the Nursing Policy Dissertation Research Grant Program.

For more information and tickets to the Leaders and Legends of Texas Nursing Banquet please visit http://www.texasnurses.org/page/House.