Delaney named a 'Living Legend'

The American Academy of Nursing has named Connie W. Delaney, Professor and Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota, and an honorary doctor at the University of Iceland, a 'Living Legend'. Delaney has taught at the University of Iceland and provided various forms of consultation on the development of health sciences within the university and elsewhere in the Icelandic community.

Delaney will receive the honour at a ceremony during the academy's conference in October.

Delaney is well known to many Icelandic nurses and others. She has been a global leader in implementing information technology and digital tools in education, research, and the field of nursing and other health sciences. She was among the first in nursing to collect coded data from electronic health records, which led to the development and implementation of the Nursing Management Minimum Data Set (NMMDS) worldwide. Delaney has had a formative influence on health information technology policy and was, for example, on a team advising US President Obama on these matters.

For many years, Delaney taught courses on information technology in nursing and other health sciences at the University of Iceland's Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery. She has also provided various consultations and helped foster a strong partnership between the University of Iceland and the University of Minnesota. She has frequently visited Iceland, where she has met with university staff, policymakers, and representatives from both the Directorate of Health and the National University Hospital of Iceland to advance information technology within the healthcare system.

In 2011, Connie Delaney and Margaret E. Wilson were awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Iceland's Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery. They were the first to receive this honour from the faculty.