Gretta Styles

As professor and dean of nursing colleges at The University of Texas, San Antonio, Wayne State University, Detroit, and the University of California, San Francisco, and as a past president of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Gretta demonstrated a lifelong commitment to leadership in nursing.

She was the architect of the first comprehensive study of nursing credentialing in the 1970s, and an innovator and pioneer in defining this critical work that recognizes and differentiates quality in all aspects of nursing practice. In the 1980s, she spearheaded ICN's definitive work on nursing regulation, including the publication of a guidebook on nursing regulation. It is through Gretta’s signature work in credentialing and its contribution to better patient outcomes globally that Gretta leaves her most enduring legacy.

Gretta was the recipient of many honorary doctorates from universities in the United States and abroad, and numerous other awards from academic and professional organizations. An international tribute to her lifetime achievements and contributions to the nursing profession was made in 2005 when Gretta received nursing’s highest international award, the Christiane Reimann Prize. (CV)

Gretta had a global impact on the profession of nursing and spoke passionately for her profession at the highest levels and in all corners of the globe. She regarded her fellow nurses as the world’s most honorable global citizens.

Gretta's acceptance speech of the Christiane Reimann Prize:

“Nursing is my identity,
in fact, my obsession.”