From left to right, Sherri Atherton, Sue B. Davidson, and Ann Busch at a retirement party for Sue in 2013.
Dec. 11, 2023 - Sue B. Davidson PhD, RN, CNS, was a shining example of commitment to the profession of nursing and its advancement. During her long career she guided students preparing to enter practice with an exacting demanding focus
on high standards and intellectual rigor. Her former students remember her with both respect and even now a bit of fear that they did not measure up.
The advancement of Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) practice was a major
goal for Sue which she addressed at both the state and national level. She was the President of the National Association for Clinical Nurse Specialists serving two terms in that role. In Oregon, she supported CNSs across the state working
both in the legislative arena and with regulatory boards to insure that there was strong authority for their practice.
Many of us were privileged to work with Sue as a colleague when she joined the staff of the Oregon Nurses
Association and led its Professional Services department from 1999 through 2013. Among her many goals was to improve the data used for decisions made by and on behalf of nursing clinicians, most specifically staff nurses. She also was
responsible for expanding the role of ONA in continuing education. Following passage of the first hospital staffing law she toured the state presenting the language, interpretation and recommendations for implementing it in a variety of types
of facilities. And she stewarded a major improvement in the law bringing together nurses from across the state and organizations.
While nursing was clearly her life, Sue together with her husband Drew had a flair for
fine decoration and brought it to many events in her professional life. Many of us remember the multiple boxes of decorations, each carefully wrapped, that would precede even an office luncheon. She believed in celebration with style.
Sue’s contribution will be missed by those of us who knew her and our fellow colleagues who still benefit from her work.
In remembrance,
Sherri Atherton, Ann Busch, Larlene Dunsmuir, Susan King, and Polly Hansen
