Nursing student Kelly Moynes asks President Jimmy Carter a question at a town-hall meeting for Emory's nursing faculty and students as part of the nursing school's centennial celebration.

You probably know Jimmy Carter as the 39th president of the United States, an author and the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize laureate - but did you know that he was an honorary nurse?

In 2001, Carter dedicated the Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. The college named him the center's first fellow and an honorary nurse. In February, Carter held a casual town-hall meeting for Emory's nursing faculty and students as part of the nursing school's centennial celebration.

Cheri Mullen, president of the senior nursing class, presented Carter with Lillian Carter Center T-shirts at the end of the meeting and received a warm hug.

"He's inspiring," Mullen said. "Most presidents don't do a whole lot after they leave office, but he and Rosalynn have done so much for our world. They've devoted their lives to improving the lives of others, and just as a nurse would, they've tried to fix specific problems."

In his opening remarks, Carter spoke fondly of being surrounded by nurses as he grew up. His mother worked 12 hours at a hospital for $4 a day and then nursed in private homes in the evening.

"She worked incredibly long hours, but whenever possible, she and the hospital staff liked to raise a little hell on Saturday nights," said Carter, remembering being kept awake by their dancing to the Victrola.

Carter spoke proudly of how two-thirds of the Carter Center budget is devoted to health care issues around the world. Working village to village, Carter Center programs have reduced the incidence of guinea worm in the world by 99 percent; and made a difference in reducing the transmission of onchocerciasis (river blindness), lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and blinding trachoma.

Caused by filth and unsanitary conditions, trachoma is a rapidly growing disease that can be greatly eliminated through better sanitation.

"I've become the No. 1 latrine manufacturer in the world. We've built 69,580 latrines because it transforms their lives," Carter said.

Opening the floor to the nursing students, Carter fielded questions about everything from the role of spirituality in one's career, to election and tort reform. Answering how nurses can help government embrace the idea that health care is a right for each citizen, Carter encouraged nurses to let their voices be heard.

"It's easy to think my voice won't matter, but I believe a collective effort by students and nurses would result in success," he said. "Don't be timid about writing letters expressing your own heartfelt feelings to the White House."

When asked what characteristics nurses need and exhibit beyond clinical skills, Carter answered at length. Nurses need to have academic qualifications equivalent to medical doctors and the ability to stretch their minds, he said. They must have a willingness to forego a large salary and have a generous attitude toward contributing their talents to others.

"Most people live innately in a cocoon, behind a wall that encloses you with people like yourself," Carter said. "Nurses have the ability to deliberately break that wall and reach out to people different than themselves."

Remembering that his mother was called to serve the poorest of the poor and went to India after retirement, Carter noted that nurses need an awareness of the world and should have a desire to let their influence be used to benefit others and prevent affliction.

"Someone who has the highest commitment to human moral values - and a nurse - I think they're the same," he said.

Junior nursing student Echo Frederickson left the hall inspired. "The fact that he sees the whole picture reminded me of why I went into nursing in the first place," she said.