(Figure 1) In 1981, after a successful career directing the ANA Washington office, Constance Holleran became the executive director of the International Council of Nurses (ICN). Her Irish wit and American boldness made her an international favorite. After 16 years, the ICN grieves over her leaving, but the American nursing community eagerly awaits the impact of Connie's return to the home front. (She'll be joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in September.)
For the ICN executive director, life is a whirlwind of international politics. Being headquartered in Geneva guarantees easy access to the world's body politic of health-the World Health Organization (WHO), International Labor Organization, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, World Medical and Hospital Associations, and on and on. With a panache born of Capitol Hill, Connie Holleran made significant inroads at ICN that have served the nursing community well. It was during Connie's tenure that the World Health Assembly, WHO's governing body, recognized the essential role that nurses and midwives play in primary care and established a global advisory group on nursing. And when she's not representing nursing before world bodies, Connie is a friend and confidante to 114 national nurses' associations and the nurturer of many others that are still in a developmental stage.
From its inception in 1904, the ICN has been committed to advancing nursing education, nursing services, and the economic and general welfare of nurses. Its agenda is overwhelming to those who lead a more parochial life-violence against (and even the torture of) nurses, discrimination and apartheid, female genital mutilation, environmental quality, the nursing role in the care of detainees and prisoners. The issues-many of which concern human rights violations-are provocative. For most of the world, this is everyday business.
Wherever possible, Connie Holleran has sought common denominators among the countries of the world. Primary care is one example. Others are the goals of securing some type of credentialing for nurses in every country as a consumer protection, standardizing nursing education, and improving working conditions for nurses. It takes talent to see such common denominators yet accept each country as it is, with its own national and ethnic footprints.
Connie's leaving ICN was the occasion for a banquet held in Zimbabwe last September. Danish Nurses Association President Kristen Stallknecht, a woman known for her political prowess, passion for nursing, and business acumen, and not one to waste words on empty compliments, had this to say about Connie: "Your American style of reasoning, presenting advantages for supporters, even bullying, was very different from what at least many Europeans were used to[horizontal ellipsis] Higher diplomatic considerations did not hinder you[horizontal ellipsis] We soon learned that you were for results, and that the style was covering a brilliant brain and a sensitive and warm heart."
Similar sentiments were offered by Sara Kibuka, president of the Uganda National Association for Nurses and Midwives, who spoke of Connie's impartial attitude and respect, so scarce in a multiracial world. Connie's ultimate aim, Kibuka said, has always been "to keep us together[horizontal ellipsis]bargaining for better terms for the nursing profession through empowerment."
Stallknecht called the fall of the Iron Curtain an unprecedented opportunity for Connie. Here was a whole new group of nurses waiting to be reorganized. It didn't matter that they were poor and couldn't afford to pay dues. The point was to get in touch with them and establish person-to-person contacts, so that they could be networked into the world of organized nursing. After people get to know each other on a personal basis, it's impossible to stop the movement from help to self-help.
And so what are the lessons learned from Connie's splendid career? That bigotry and bias are best combated by establishing personal relationships-the power of the one-to-one. That personal expressions of friendship transcend national and racial boundaries. That in every relationship, unless help leads to self-help, we cripple our brothers and sisters.
Finally, there is an indomitable American spirit in Connie, birthed in the love of freedom, enhanced by ethnic pride, finding expression in the search for solutions that are often grounded in pragmatism. What others label brash is more often honesty and a distaste for game-playing. What others see as materialism is often generosity. The qualities that have endeared Connie Holleran to the international nursing community are uniquely American.