This month we’re highlighting Hispanic prominent figures in the medical field to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. Up next is Hector Hugo Gonzalez, president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses from 1982-1984.
Gonzalez was born in 1937 and was a direct descendent of two of the first Spaniards who settled in what is now Casas Blancas Ranch on the banks of the Rio Grande River.
Gonzalez earned his nursing degree from Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in San Antonio, Texas in 1963. He served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1966-1968, reaching the rank of Captain before becoming an instructor at the School of Nursing at Incarnate Word College. While there, he pursued his PhD, majoring in curriculum and instruction of higher education. In 1974, he completed his PhD, making him the first Mexican American nurse to earn a doctorate in the U.S.
During his career, Gonzalez served with a number of organizations. They include
- President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses
- National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- National Advisory Council on Nursing Education and Service
- Board of Directors of the National League for Nursing
- Panel on Nursing Practice of the United States Pharmacopeia
- Advisory Board of the Minority Fellowship Program of the American Nurses Association
- Visiting professor at Facultad de Enfermeria at the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico and Facultad de Enfermeria at the Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi in San Luis Potosi
- Advisory Board at Lutheran General Hospital
- Board of Directors of the Family Services Association
- Department chair of Nursing Education at San Antonio College
- CEO of the San Antonio Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses
- Advisory Committee of the Department of Nursing Education at San Antonio College
Gonzalez is currently retired.