Joyce C. Clifford, who served for 25 years as senior vice president and nurse-in-chief of Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, has died at the age of 76. Clifford received her diploma in nursing from the Hospital of St. Raphael School of Nursing in 1956. She received her bachelor of science in nursing from St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, her master of science in nursing from the University of Alabama, and a doctorate in health planning and policy analysis from the Heller School of Brandeis University. During her career, Clifford advocated the full professionalization of the nursing role through decentralized decision making, 24-hour accountability for care, and full collaboration with other disciplines. She held leadership positions on many boards and special programs, including AJN (board chair), the American Hospital Association, and the Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Adequacy of Nurse Staffing, among others. She received numerous awards, most recently, the Living Legend in Massachusetts Nursing by the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses in 2007, and was named a "Living Legend" by the American Academy of Nursing in 2005. For more on Clifford and her career, visit http://bit.ly/rSRVRr.