Congratulations to Profa. Dra. Hortensia Castañeda-Hidalgo
NANDA International would like to acknowledge and congratulate Profa. Dra. Hortensia
Castañeda-Hidalgo, who received the Mexican National Recognition of Merit in Nursing for
2021, during this past Nurses’ Week. On Nurses’ Day, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López
Obrador, along with the Secretary of Health, Jorge Alcocer Varela, acknowledged the
importance of nursing and specifically recognized three nurses for their outstanding
achievements in improving the health of the Mexican population.
The award presented to Dr. Castañeda-Hidalgo, “Graciela Arroyo de Cordero”, is presented to a
nursing professional for his/her recognized vocation of service and dedication to the education
of new generations, as well as for his/her transcendent social contributions on behalf of the
health of the population, and the consolidation of their institutions.
Dr. Castañeda-Hidalgo is the Academic Dean of the School of Nursing at the Universidad
Autónoma de Tamaulipas in Tampico, México and a member of the Diagnosis Development
Committee of NANDA-I. She has also served as the translator for NANDA-I Hispanoamerican
translation of our book, NANDA International nursing diagnoses: Definitions and classification,
for the last two editions.
We are grateful to have the contributions of Dr. Castañeda-Hidalgo in our Association. We want
to acknowledge her work to move the education on clinical reasoning and standardized nursing
languages forward, and to improve the utilization and implementation of the terminology of
NANDA International within Mexico. She has lectured with members of the NANDA-I Board of
Directors, and with me, in various Latin American countries and is an acknowledged leader in
the successful movement to require the use of NANDA-I nursing diagnoses within the electronic
health record in Mexico. She also educates others on the importance of using evidence-based
standardized languages to improve the visibility, and measure the impact of, nursing science on
patient care.
Please join me in congratulating Profa. Dra. Hortensia Castañeda-Hidalgo on this great honor!
T. Heather Herdman, PhD, RN, FNI, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer, NANDA International
