Helen L. Erickson

Helen Erickson, born in Clare Michigan, attended nursing school at Saginaw General Hospital 1954-57, and earned her BSN, MS, and PhD at The University of Michigan. She is known internationally is a holistic nurse leader, theorist, educator, and colleague who pushes the leading edge of nursing, insisting that nursing attend to the clients' perspectives first, understand their worldview, and artistically design interventions that will facilitate them to live their lives to the maximum of their ability, even as they take their first and/or last breathe. She articulates differences between holism and holism, arguing that the later is necessary to facilitate wholeness, quality of life, and wellbeing. She is the recipient of The Helen L Erickson Endowed Lectureship on Holistic Healing at The University of Texas at Austin, has received numerous other awards including the American Holistic Nursing (AHNA) Awards for Holistic Nurse of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, and Journal of Holistic Nursing Excellence in Practice Writing Award. Her recent work has focused on co-authoring the publication, Foundations, Competencies, and Curricular Guidelines for Basic to Advanced Holistic Nursing Education found on the AHNA website.