Dr. Elizabeth Madigan, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, has been the Chief Executive Officer of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma) since November 2017. In that time, she has positioned Sigma as a leader for global nursing by promoting nursing scholarship and leadership globally. She led the convening of the invitational Global Strategy Summit in Geneva in October 2018 that included representatives from ICN, ICM, Jhpiego, Nursing Now, and the Consortium of Universities in Global Health. Under Dr. Madigan’s leadership, Sigma has expanded to four countries: Ireland, Jamaica, Israel, Scotland, with Italy and Croatia chartering chapters in May 2020. Sigma is now producing scholarly podcasts with a focus on scholarship, research, and advanced education. Through these activities, more than 135,000 Sigma nursing members and all nurses globally have the opportunities to advance and develop their knowledge and skills around leadership and scholarship in support of improving global health.
Supporting nurse leaders is what we do, across the course of their career. Nurse leaders are everywhere: from direct care positions to formal leadership positions. Not every leader has a formal position. You lead from where you are. And we need nurse leaders now more than ever.
In response to COVID-19, she led Sigma to support nurses globally. Under her leadership, Sigma supported nurses who were in clinical leadership positions, on topics such as ethics and communications. In parallel, Dr. Madigan led educational sessions for nursing students and faculty, focusing on challenges and circumstances that surfaced because of the pandemic. This series is in addition to Sigma’s regular support of nurses in clinical practice, leadership, academic settings, and other settings nurses work. Dr. Madigan also commissioned the Free-CPD programs for the nurses who were not able to attain continuing professional development hours. Currently, Dr. Madigan is establishing The Resilient Nurse Resource Center, a center that is designed to support nurses globally and will equip them with free educational resources.
Dr. Madigan received her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH in 1996, and her Master’s of Nursing from the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH in 1988. She received her Bachelor’s of Nursing from Wright State University, Dayton, OH in 1979. Dr. Madigan is a FellowAd Eundem, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland since 2019. She has co-authored three Book Chapters for international publishers and has 98 peer-reviewed articles in international journals. Dr. Madigan has 11 awards among which she was nominated for the Diekhoff Graduate Student Mentoring Award, CWRU in 2016. She is also serving on many national committees and non-profits boards and boards as a member or Co-Chair.