ICN president hopes the RCN will rejoin the organisation

President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Judith Shamian hopes the RCN will renew its membership of her organisation.

The college left the ICN in 2014 following a dispute over the cost of its annual membership fee, arguing that it could not justify spending £500,000 a year on fees.

But Dr Shamian told RCNi that, under changes to its funding structure, the college would pay a maximum of £340,000 if it rejoins.

 'We are hopeful that as we move forward the RCN will possibly rejoin the ICN,' she said. 'The RCN has always been a very important family member and the nurses in the UK have always been globally minded and concerned about global citizens and global nursing.'

The RCN's decision to leave the ICN had been a blow for the Swiss-based organisation, added Dr Shamian, a former president of the Canadian Nurses' Association. But she understood the RCN had to live within its means. 'It was a very amicable separation. Peter Carter provided strong leadership and it was done in a true British gentlemanly way,' she said.

The decision prompted the ICN to take a 'deep look' at itself and review governance, cost-effectiveness and efficiency, according to Dr Shamian.