Grand Council Meeting, Copenhagen

A Grand Council meeting was held in Copenhagen in 1922 where another Scandinavian nurse, Baroness Sophie Mannerheim (read more) of Finland, was elected president with the Watchword “Peace”. Both she and Henny Tscherning (read more) were very active among European nursing leaders in keeping the spirit of ICN alive throughout the hardships of World War I.

The Congress concentrated on nursing education through the lens of certification and state registration, both needed as the recognised standard for training professional nurses. A minimum of 3 years continuous training in qualified training schools, under the direction of trained nurses was deemed critical to ensuring that nursing standards met the health needs of society. To make this happen ICN called on countries with well organised systems of professional nursing education to support countries calling for ICN support.

ICN Member Associations affiliated to ICN were: in 1922, the National Federation of Nurses of Belgium, the Chinese Nurses Association, the Italian Nurses Association, the South African Nurses Association and the Norwegian Nurses Organisation.

Karll, A (1923) Report on Nursing in Germany during the Year 1923. ICN Bulletin No 10 Pgs 28-29) Accessed from ICN Archives July 2018

Danish Nursing history museum https://dsr.dk/dshm/sygeplejens-historie/dansk-sygeplejeraads-formaend/henny-henriette-tscherning

Williamson, L. (2014) The International Council of Nurses during the First World War..Soins: La Revue de Reference Infirmiere, Jun (786): 116