A Living Legend...
Leah accepts the honor | Sr. Joanne, Rose Aleman, Kim, Pat Lane
The Franciscan Sisters of the Poor congratulate associate Leah Curtin for the extraordinary honor of being named a Living Legend …which may take a little explaining! The American Nurses' Association established the American Academy of Nursing in 1973 to serve the public and the profession by creating a body of nurses whose sole purpose is to advance both health policy and nursing practice. The Academy's Fellows are established leaders whose outstanding nursing careers have contributed substantially to the public good. Leah was elected a Fellow in 1982.
In 1994, the Academy itself decided to name a few of its Fellows "Living Legends" to highlight their extraordinary lifetime achievements. A "Living Legend" must have made outstanding and sustained contributions to nursing and health care throughout their careers. They also must continue to influence the profession. Living Legends serve as reminders of the proud history of the nursing profession—and as amazing role models. Leah was named a Living Legend on November 5th at the Academy's meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
All four of her children, all of her sisters (she has three) and a niece were present at the ceremony held in Atlanta, Georgia on November 5, 2009. Sr. Joanne Schuster,SFP, was present to represent the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor. In the citation honoring her, the President of the American Academy of Nursing, Dr. Pamela Mitchell, said: "Most know Dr. Curtin as the ‘mother of nursing ethics,’ but her professional influence has touched nearly all aspects of nursing and health care. She is a philosopher, teacher, author, editor, and international leader in ethics. Her love for nursing is the common thread throughout her work. Margretta Madden Styles, President of the International Council of Nurses, called her “a seminal thinker…a source of new ideas…a national treasure, a fine writer, pundit, and sage.”
In 1992, the State University of New York awarded her an honorary doctorate for the impact she has on the profession, and in 2002 the Medical College of Ohio gave her a second honorary doctorate for humanitarian services related to her critically acclaimed book, Sunflowers in the Sand: Stories from Children of War. Thelma Schorr, past President of the American Journal of Nursing company, said, “In addition to her 20 years editing Nursing Management, she has written eight books, 400 articles for professional journals, 17 book chapters—and presented over 900 academic papers. She founded the National Center for Nursing Ethics, started the first journal solely devoted to ethics and co-authored an American Journal of Nursing’s Book of the Year, Nursing Ethics: Theories and Pragmatics.”
Dr. Curtin was a staff nurse for the first ten years of her career, working in hospitals and community health. The mother of four adult children, she now has seven grandchildren—and continues to contribute to the field as a speaker and author, as Executive Editor of American Nurse Today (the official journal of the American Nurses Association), as a member of the standards review board for DNV Healthcare (a hospital accrediting body), and as a consultant and lecturer. Leah has been involved in Associate Leadership for the last 5 years, and also serves the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor as the U.S. Area's consultant for communications.
- Submitted by Sr. Joanne Schuster, SFP