History of Nursing

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A look at the most influential nurses in American history and some of their accomplishments.

Hospital nurse in the Civil War where she earned the nickname “Angel of the Battlefield”
Worked to locate missing soldiers and testified before Congress about wartime experiences
Named the head nurse for one of Union General Benjamin Butler’s units in 1864, despite having no formal medical training
Founded the American Red Cross in 1881 and led the organization for 23 years

Quote: “I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.” – Clara Barton⁽³⁾

Did you know CU Online offers a fully online RN to BSN degree?

Nursing leader and advocate for civil and women’s rights
The first African-American woman to complete nurse’s training in 1879
- Of the 42 students admitted to the New England Hospital for Women and Children’s nursing program that year, Mahoney was one of only four to graduate
Co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in 1908
The NACGN established an award in her name in 1936, and the Mary Mahoney award has been continued by the American Nurses Association

Established and directed the Loeb Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York, from 1963 to 1969
- The Loeb Center was nurse-led, and care was directed by nurses, not physicians
Developed the “Care, Cure, Core” model of nursing, devoted to personalized care of patients
Researched and worked in the field of rehabilitation of chronically ill patients

Director of Nurse Training at the John A. Andrew Hospital, at Tuskegee University from 1944 to 1973
- There, she established the first baccalaureate degree program in nursing in Alabama (1953) and became Dean of the School of Nursing

She had a number of prestigious achievements throughout her career, including:^(7,8)
- Member of the Board of Directors for the National League for Nursing
- Recipient of the Award for Distinguished Achievement in Nursing and the American Nurses’ Association Mary Mahoney Award
- Alabama State Nurses’ Association establish an annual Lillian Holland Harvey Award in her honor
Quote: “Come to Tuskegee School of Nursing as you are, and you will leave as you ought to be.” – Lilian Holland Harvey

First man to hold a position as dean of an American nursing school
Held academic positions at Vanderbilt University, Rush University and the University of Michigan
Helped found the National Male Nurse Association, which later became the American Assembly for Men in Nursing
Honored with the Living Legend award by the American Academy of Nursing in 1995
Became the first man to be inducted into the American Nursing Association’s Hall of Fame in 2004

An accomplished nursing researcher, she published more than 150 articles
Korean War veteran
Recipient of five Distinguished Service Medals
The first nurse to achieve the position of Rear Admiral Upper Half, and the first nurse and woman to hold the position of Deputy Surgeon General
Developed a system called the “Twenty-one nursing problems theory” to identify a patient’s needs
Quote: “I decided that I would never again be powerless to assist when people were in so dire a need. It was at that moment that I thought that I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to become a nurse.” – Faye Glenn Abdellah⁽¹²⁾

Rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and current Deputy Surgeon General
Served as acting Surgeon General of the United States from April 21, 2017 to September 5, 2017
Nurse officer in the Army since 1992
Served as deputy associate administrator of the HIV/AIDS Bureau within the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Quote: “I have taken care of generals, senators, and homeless people.” – Sylvia Trent-Adams⁽¹⁵⁾

In 1873, the first three schools of nursing were established in the US
- New York Training School at Bellevue Hospital
- Connecticut Training School at the State Hospital (later renamed New Haven Hospital)
- Boston Training School at Massachusetts General Hospital
Today, there are 684 nursing education programs accredited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)⁽¹⁹⁾
The RN workforce is expected to grow from 2,955,200 in 2016 to 3,393,200 by 2026 ⁽²⁰⁾
New BSN graduates currently see job offer rates of 94% within 4 to 6 months of completing their programs⁽²¹⁾

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