Pamela Cipriano of the University of Virginia Is the New President of the International Council of Nurses

Pamela Cipriano has been elected the 29th president of the International Council of Nurses. She has been the first vice president of the organization since 2017.

The International Council of Nurses is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations, representing more than 27 million nurses worldwide. Founded in 1899, ICN is the world’s first and widest reaching international organization for health professionals. Operated by nurses and leading nurses internationally, ICN works to ensure quality nursing care for all, sound health policies globally, the advancement of nursing knowledge, and the presence worldwide of a respected nursing profession and a competent and satisfied nursing workforce.

“I am so honored to have been elected to this most prestigious position,” Dr. Cipriano said. “ICN is known for its global impact, fighting for the advancement of the profession. My vision for the future of ICN is to increase the influence of nurses in their countries and on the global stage.”

Dr. Cipriano is dean and the Sadie Heath Cabaniss Professor of Nursing at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. She was president of the American Nurses Association from 2014 to 2018. Dr. Cipriano has also served on the board of directors of the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of Nursing. She was the inaugural editor-in-chief of the journal American Nurse Today, the official journal of the American Nurses Association, for eight years.

Dean Cipriano earned a nursing diploma from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 1976. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from American University in Washington, D.C., and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Washington. In 1992, she earned a Ph.D. in executive nursing administration from the College of Nursing at the University of Utah.