Faye Glenn Abdellah was a pioneering nurse who dedicated her life to improving nursing care and changing the world. She became a nurse after witnessing the Hindenburg disaster and wanting to help those in need. Over her long career, Abdellah held many leadership roles including Deputy Surgeon General, published groundbreaking works on patient-centered nursing and continued working well into her 80s. She was passionate about using her intelligence, purpose and vision to improve healthcare for all people.

1. “We cannot wait for the world
to change…Those of us with
intelligence, purpose, and
vision must take the lead and
change the world. Let us
move forward together! I
promise never to rest until my
work has been completed!” –
Faye Abdellah
FAYE GLENN
ABDELLAH
Sandy Winter, Mike Bregenzer, and Dianne
Grimmett

2. Where she came from
 Dr. Abdellah was born in New York in 1919.
Her father was of Algerian heritage and her
mother of Scottish.
 She grew up in a family that was committed to
service to their country. Her only brother died
of pancreatic cancer related to his World War II
military
Lessing, 2004, p. 4

3. Why she became a nurse
 She became a nurse because of a startling
historical event, the explosion of the
Hindenburg.
“I could only view the tragedy of the poor
scorched victims exiting the dirigible. it was
then that 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.” Lessing, 2004, p. 4

4. Nurse, Researcher, Educator
 She was trained first as a diploma nurse, but
went on to earn 3 degrees from Columbia.
 Advanced degrees in nursing were unavailable
at the time so she chose a masters in
physiology and a doctorate in education.
 True to her training, nursing, research, and
education were her lifelong passions.
Virginia Healthcare Association
http://www.vhca.org/consumers/whos-who/2010/ww2.asp

5. Career highlights: positions
 Dr. Abdellah had an astonishing career,
marked by the passion and commitment to
public service that had first led her to be a
nurse.
 She joined the U.S. Public Health Service in
1949.
 She achieved the rank of a two-star rear
admiral.
 She was chosen as the Deputy Surgeon
General, the first time that of Fame a woman or a
National Women's Hall either
http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-
nurse had been appointed to serve in that role.
results/details/2/1-Abdellah

6. Career highlights: publications
 In 1960, Abdellah published her foundational
theory in Patient-Centered Approaches to
Nursing.
 At the time, Abdellah was already a research
consultant with the U.S. Public Health service, so
she collaborated with three nurse educators who
wrote chapters on applying Abdellah’s theory to
diploma, associate, and bachelor’s level degree
programs.
 The main principle of Abdellah’s book was that the
patient should be at the center of nursing inquiry
National Women's Hall of Fame
http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-
and work, not the disease or the physician or the
results/details/2/1-Abdellah

7. Career highlights: publications
(cont.)
 Abdellah updated this work over the next two
decades in works such as New Directions in
Patient-Centered Nursing (Abdellah et al.,
1973).
 She also published highly-regarded works in
nursing research, such as Better Patient Care
through Nursing Research (Abdellah, F.G. &
Levine, E., 1979).
 One of her most recent books on research was
Preparing Nursing Research for the 21st
Century (Abdellah, F.G. & Levine, E., 1994).

8. Retirement?
 Dr. Abdellah supposedly retired in 1989, but
she then founded the graduate school of
nursing at the Uniformed Services University. A
center there has been named in her honor.
 She served as its dean until about 2002, when
Senator Daniel Inouye rose to pay tribute to
her remarkable career in this speech:
Dr. Faye Glenn Abdellah honored
Capitol Words, http://capitolwords.org/date/2002/05/16/S4488-
3_tribute-to-dr-faye-glenn-abdellah/

9. Dr. Faye Glenn Abdellah today
 Dr. Abdellah finally slowed down enough to
take up residence in the Arleigh Burke Pavilion
in Manassas, Virginia. She is now 93 years
old.
 Since Dr. Abdellah gave special attention to
the improvement of long-term care facilities
and the training of geriatric nurse practitioners,
we hope her years of service are now
rewarded with the excellent care she
deserves!
Virginia Healthcare Association
http://www.vhca.org/consumers/whos-who/2010/ww2.asp

10. Why she still matters
 Abdellah gave preliminary form to many
current nursing concerns: patient-centered
care, access to health care, improving health
education, providing service to hospice,
patients with AIDS, and residents of nursing
homes.
 She contributed both language and concepts
to the development of a nursing process,
including the then-new idea that nurses should
make nursing diagnoses.
National Women's Hall of Fame
http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-
results/details/2/1-Abdellah

11. Bibliography
Abdellah, F.G., Beland, I.L., Martin, A., & Matheney, R.V. (1960). Patient-
centered approaches to nursing. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Abdellah, F.G., Beland, I.L., Martin, A., & Matheney, R.V. (1973). New
directions in patient-centered nursing. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Abdellah, F.G. & Levine, E. (1994). Preparing nursing research for the 21st
century. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Lessing, M. 2004. Up close and personal: Interview with Rear Admiral Faye
Glenn Abdellah. Military Medicine, 169, (11), 3-11.
National Women’s Hall of Fame. (2011). Faye Glenn Abdellah. Retrieved from
http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-
results/details/2/1-Abdellah
Sunlight Foundation. (2006). Tribute to Dr. Faye G. Abdellah. Retrieved from
http://capitolwords.org/date/2002/05/16/S4488-3_tribute-to-dr-faye-glenn-
abdellah/
Virginia Healthcare Association. (2011). Who’s who in Virginia’s long-term care
facilities. Retrieved from http://www.vhca.org/consumers/whos-
who/2010/ww2.asp