Profile of Sioban Nelson

Sioban Nelson RN, PhD, FCAHS, FCAN, FAAN

Professor

I am a historian of nursing and health care

Dr. Sioban Nelson a leading historian of nursing and health policy scholar. Her historical interests include transnational history and material culture in nursing. Her policy and workforce interests include professional regulation, scope of practice, mobility and the global nursing workforce. She served as editor-in-chief of the journal Nursing Inquiry for 12 years and co-editor of the Culture and Politics of Health Care Work series, Cornell University Press, 2004-2021. Dr. Nelson was a commissioner on the CNA National Expert Commission for the Future of the Health Care System, 2012. She co-chaired the Assessment Committee on Scope of Practice in the Health Professions for the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She served as Dean of the Faculty of Nursing (2005-2013) and, subsequently, Vice-Provost at the University of Toronto (2013 to 2018). She is President of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and Interim Chair of the Council of Canadian Academies.

  • 1997 to 2001 – Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Melbourne, Australia

  • 1996 – PhD, Griffith University, Australia

  • 1985 – Nursing Certificate, Royal Darwin Hospital, Australia

  • 1976 – BA (Hons), La Trobe University, Australia