Elizabeth Kerr Porter

Elizabeth Kerr Porter

A 1996 American Nurses Association (ANA) inductee Elizabeth Porter was committed to strengthening the profession of nursing and its professional organization. She was a leader in nursing education and an advocate for nurses' rights. She defended the right for nurses to organize for the purpose of speaking out in support of economic security for themselves (ANA, 2010).

Mrs. Porter played a vital role as president of the ANA in strengthening the association's economic security program, improving employment conditions for nurses, increasing nursing representation on national boards and commissions, eliminating racial restrictions to membership in the ANA, forming a National Student Nurses' Council, and consolidating the six existing national nursing organizations into two major associations. She believed that nursing could be an instrument for change through its professional organization and stated in 1952, "the American Nurses Association can be only as strong as individuals are strong for collective action, and that strength must be fostered in district and state groups" (ANA, 2010).

Mrs. Porter was influential in bringing the ANA into the strong professional organization that it is today. In 1952 she recognized what nurses today still have difficulty seeing-that nurses are only as strong as individuals as they are as a collective group. She is described as a great leader in nursing education and an advocate for nurses' rights. She supported economic security for nurses as well as their right to organize for that purpose. It seems that even today not many nurses petition as a collective for better pay or economic security. Lack of support by nurses for their organization as a profession is evident. ANA should be a very powerful voice, but nurses today fail to organize collaboratively.

Mrs. Porter was a great asset, bringing honor and pride to nursing as a profession. She led nursing toward a common goal of collaboration for their professional organization and encouraged nurses to petition for better pay. She led an era of nurses into the mindset that it is acceptable to stand up for oneself and that if done as a group of professionals it is more effective. Had nursing not been led toward petitioning for better pay and to receive quality educations, the profession today may be very different. Mrs. Porter began challenging what was acceptable pay for nurses to receive and empowered them to act as an organization to request more. She promoted education so that nurses today meet certain minimal educational requirements before they may practice as a licensed nurse. Her proactive support of the nursing profession began improvements that can be appreciated even today.

Veronica Driscoll

Veronica Margaret Driscoll was the 2002 American Nurses Association (ANA) Hall of Fame