Christiane Elisabeth Reimann (6 May 1888,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

- 12 April 1979,

Syracuse, Sicily Syracuse ( ; ; ) is a historic city on the Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace ...

) was a Danish nurse. She is especially remembered for being the first Danish nurse with a graduate degree in nursing. She was the first paid secretary of the

International Council of Nurses The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for :Health care occupations, health care professionals. It is headqua ...

(ICN). The ICN's most prestigious award for nursing, the Christiane Reimann Prize, was established in her honor.

Early life and education

Reimann was born on 6 May 1888 in

, to stockbroker Carl Reimann and Margit Meisterlin. At the age of 25, and against her family’s wishes, she trained as a nurse at a

Bispebjerg Hospital Bispebjerg Hospital is one of the hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. Along with a number of other hospitals and the University of Copenhagen (the Faculty of Health Sciences), Bispebjerg Hospital forms part of the Copenhagen University Hos ...

in Copenhagen. Having finished her three years of nursing training in 1916, Reimann then trained as a teacher at Columbia University in New York, where she was a student of

Mary Adelaide Nutting Mary Adelaide Nutting (November 1, 1858 – October 3, 1948) was a Canadian nurse, educator, and pioneer in the field of hospital care. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University's first nurse training program in 1891, Nutting helped to found ...

and Isabel Stewart. She earned a BS in 1921 and an MA in 1925.

Nursing career

Reimann was elected secretary of the

(ICN) in 1922, at the same time as Sophie Mannerheim was elected as president. The position was unpaid, but when Reimann was reelected in 1925, she was given the title Executive Secretary, and became the first paid secretary of the ICN. Reimann was determined to make the ICN a recognised international voice for nurses. She set up a nursing advisory service for governments and health authorities, and created partnerships with other relevant international organisations. Independently wealthy, Reimann travelled extensively in Europe to visit ICN members. She also established, at her own expense, the ICN periodical, first called The Bulletin, and later the International Nursing Review. Reimann resigned from the ICN in 1934, due to bad health, and disagreements with other ICN members. It was also announced that she married Wilhelm F. C. Alter that year. Reimann bought a property in

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, Sicily. She established a prize, the Christiane Reimann prize, which was first awarded by the ICN in 1985, and which she intended to be ‘the Novel Prize of nursing’. Reimann died 12 April 1979, Syracuse, Sicily.

Reimann Award

The ICN's most prestigious award for nursing, the Christiane Reimann Prize, was established in her honor. Recipients of the award include: * 1985:

Virginia Henderson Virginia Avenel Henderson (November 30, 1897 – March 19, 1996) was an American nurse, researcher, theorist, and writer. Henderson is famous for a definition of nursing: ''"The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or w ...

, USA * 1989: Dame Nita Barrow, Barbados * 1993: Dame

Sheila Quinn Dame Sheila Margaret Imelda Quinn, DBE, FRCN, RGN, RM, RNT (16 September 1920–8 December 2016), was a British nurse and fellow of the Royal College of Nursing. She was president of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) from 1982 to 1986. S ...

, United Kingdom * 1997: Dr Mo-Im Kim Kore, and Dr

Hildegard Peplau Hildegard E. Peplau (September 1, 1909 – March 17, 1999) was an American nurse and the first published nursing theorist since Florence Nightingale. She created the Nursing theory#Mid-range nursing theories, middle-range nursing theory of interpe ...

, USA * 2005: Dr Margretta Madden Styles, USA * 2009: Dr Máximo A. González Jurado, Spain * 2013: Kirsten Stallknecht, Denmark * 2017: Dr Sheila Tlou, Botswana and Dr

Linda Aiken Linda H. Aiken, (born July 29, 1943) is an American nurse and researcher who is currently the Founding Director for the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research and a Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics. She a ...

, USA * 2021: Dr Sheuan Lee, Taiwan Nurses Association

References

*Bloch Kjeldsen, Susanne (17. oktober 2014). "Villa på Sicilien afdækker nyt om dansk sygeplejeikon". Sygeplejersken (Dansk Sygeplejeråd) 12/2014: s. 16, 26–31. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reimann, Christiane 1888 births 1979 deaths People from Copenhagen International Council of Nurses Danish nurses Danish women nurses