Nelly Garzón Alarcón
First South American President of the International Council of Nurses
Thank you to Daniel Suarez Baquero, a fellow Colombian nurse PhD, who let us know about this remarkable nurse!
Nelly Garzon Alarcon was born in La Mesa, Cundinamarca in 1932. Her nursing career began in 1958 upon graduation from the National University of Colombia with her general nursing degree. She completed her Masters in Nursing at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
In 1985, Dr. Garzon Alacon was elected as the first South American (Colombian) President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and served until 1989. She selected the word “justice” as a guiding principle for her presidency. The World Health Organization (WHO) awarded her the Health for All Medal for her efforts and contributions within ICN to achieve the WHO primary health goals. From 1997 to 2007, she was president of the National Ethical Court of Nursing. was a professor at the National University of Colombia. The university conferred her a honorary doctorate in 2011. While at the university, she also co-founded the Upsilon Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), Nursing Honor Society in 2007. Within STTI, she served as the regional coordinator for Latin American and Caribbean chapters. Dr. Garzon Alacon was also active in Colombian politics and led the regulation of nurses in Colombia through the creation of “Law 266 of 1996” and the Nursing Ethics Law, “Law 911, 2006”. These laws constituted the regulation of nursing practice in Colombia and established the Tribunal for Nursing Ethics. It also determined the ethical responsibility of nursing practice.
Dr. Garzon Alacon has been recognized globally for contributions to nursing. She was recognized as Member of the American Nursing Honor Society of the Sigma Theta Tau, Kappa Chapter. In 1970 she was recognized as Nurse of the Year by the National Association of Nurses of Colombia. Her peers recognized her as
“a visionary leader who was loving, charismatic, fair, organized, and persistent — and who sowed the seed of nursing knowledge.”
Of all her accomplishments, Dr. Garzon Alacon is most well known for her warm and inviting mentorship, guidance, and inspiration.
Further Resources
Pilar Camarago Plaza’s article Understanding the Space of Nursing Practice in Colombia: A Critical Reflection on the Effects of Health System Reform
Sources
We sourced the above information from Sigma Nursing, Wikipedia, and International Council of Nurses.
Please submit any additional sources or information to us to add via social media or email us at nursesyoushouldknow@gmail.com.
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Know Your History
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- 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.
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- 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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