Active Nursing Leadership

Throughout her career, Katharine Densford held offices in almost every nursing organization of the time. A few of the more significant roles are listed here:

• President, American Nurses' Association (ANA) (more information is available)
• Board member and first Vice-President of ANA
• President, Sigma Theta Tau
• President, Minnesota League of Nursing Education
• President, Alpha Tau Delta
• President, District 3, Minnesota Nurses Association
• President, Minnesota Nurses Association
• Chair, Minnesota Nursing Council for War Service
• Vice President, the International Council of Nurses (ICN)

With these positions she was not only able to travel the world, she was also able to speak to people from all walks of life about her mission to improve nursing. "Make the most of your abilities, grow up to the best that is in you. Talents are important but how you use them is more so."

Katharine was in high demand for her speeches, of which it is known that she made more than 140. Many times her speeches were informal, scribbled in the margins of papers. She was also highly prolific in her publications. A complete list of her written work is unfinished, but presently more than 97 are known to exist, among them, five monographs, four book reviews, two books. Of note is that one of her book chapters was the introduction to a medical text, Introduction to Physiological and Pathological Chemistry.