Nursing 320.50B

1. History of Women in Nursing
Timeline: Nursing Education
By: Samantha Leitzell
NURS 320.50B Basis of Professional
Practice

2. Beginnings of Nursing Education: 1798
In 1798, a New York physician by the name of Valentine
Seaman, organized some of the first courses and which were
lectures for nurses who cared for maternity patients.
(American Nursing n.d.)

3. 1839-1850
• By the early nineteenth century, a program called the Nurse Society of
Philadelphia came into existence. This program trained women in caring
for mothers during childbirth and the postpartum period. The Nurse
Society employed about fifty nurses, establishing an early practice of
engaging nurses for care of patients in the home. (American Nursing n.d.)

4. 1854
A few years later, during the Crimea War, Florence
Nightingale, a woman of upper-class, provided nursing
services to the British Soldiers. After her service, she
established many nursing education programs in the British
hospitals. (American Nursing n.d.)

5. 1861
In 1861, The Women’s Hospital of Philadelphia
was established by Ann Preston, M.D., and
offered a six months nurse training course,
which graduated its first class in 1869. (Landis
2013)

6. 1873
Three nurse educational programs based on the ideas of Florence Nightingale
began operations in 1873, these schools are:
– 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 (Evolution of Modern Nursing
n.d.)

7. 1873 (continued)
• The New England Hospital for Women and Children
generated two important women in history. Linda
Richards, who was the first graduate from the program, and
Mary Eliza Mahoney, who was the first African American
professional nurse, who graduated in 1879. (Evolution of
Modern Nursing n.d.)

8. 1900
By 1900, there were between 400 to 800 schools of nursing in operation in
the country. These programs followed a fairly typical pattern:
• The school was either affiliated with or owned by a hospital that provided
the students with the clinical experience considered necessary for the
education of a nurse.
• Students received two to three years of training.
• At the end of the educational program, students received a diploma and
were eligible to seek work as a trained nurse. (American Nursing n.d.)

9. 1907
• In 1907, the first professor of nursing joined the faculty of
Teachers College at Columbia University, Mary Adelaide
Nutting. Mary Nutting led the Department of Nursing and
Health at Teachers College from 1910 until her retirement
in 1925. (Resuggan 2010)

10. 1950s
In the 1950s, the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) was established. The
ADN program is a 2 year program where graduates receive Associate Degree
in Nursing (ADN), and not a diploma.
• The first seven experimental ADN programs in the US, were funded by the
Kellogg Foundation. The ADN programs took place in community and
junior colleges. The Kellogg experiment was deemed a success and the
number of ADN programs in the US increased from seven in 1958 to 130 in
1965 to 1,000 in 2007 (Haase, 1990).

11. 1960
An emphasis on Baccalaureate Degree programs came about
and approximately 172 college-based nursing education
programs awarded Bachelors of Science in Nursing degrees,
by 1960. (American Nursing n.d.)
• Baccalaureate Degree Programs:
– 4 years in length, offered through college and universities
– Emphasizes advanced knowledge and assessment, broader
scientific content, and systematic problem-solving tools
– Higher prepared nurses for all types of nursing including non-
hospital setting

12. 2010
• As of 2010, there were 1,937 nursing programs in the Unites States.
(Nursing Schools n.d.)
• Nursing in the 21st century has begun to move toward the higher educated
nurses. Research has shown that the Bachelor prepared nurses leads to
better patient outcomes and is now becoming the requirement for most
nursing education today.

13. Conclusion
The nursing profession is still going strong. If it wasn’t for the
women who put themselves out there to develop this
profession, nursing would not be where it is today.

14. References
• American Nursing: An Introduction to the Past . (n.d.) [PDF document]. Retrieved from Course
Notes Online Web Site:
http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/nhhc/Welcome%20Page%20Content/American%20Nursing.p
df
• Evolution of Modern Nursing: A Historical Perspective . (n.d.)[ PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved
from Course Notes Online Web Site:
https://millersville.desire2learn.com/content/enforced1/2011152-
20162015214/01%20Module%20Files/Readings/Nursing%20History%20-
Original%20PPT.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=7MSN8lyyhGW2mwJCuCkOzIJVN&ou=2011152
• Haase, Patricia T. (1990). The Origins and Rise of Associate Degree Nursing Education.
Durham and London: Duke University Press.
• Landis, C. (2013). The Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia Records. (pp. 4) WM.002. Retrieved
from
http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/detail.html?id=PACSCL_DUCOM_DUCOMWM002
• Nursing Schools. (n.d.) Retrieved March 16, 2016 from
http://www.educationnews.org/career-index/nursing-schools/
• Resuggan, R. (2010). Mary Adelaide Nutting. Retrieved from
http://www.nurses.info/personalities_adelaide_nutting.htm