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37 articles
Profiles in NursingDolores “Dee” O’Hara (1935–), First NASA Space NurseHer nursing skills launched an out-of-this-world careerWhen Dolores “Dee” O’Hara entered nursing school after graduating from Oregon’s Lebanon High School in 1953, she had no idea her nursing career would have her literally reaching for the stars. In 1960, she became the first nurse to join NASA,...
Profiles in NursingAnn Bradford Stokes (1830–1903), From Civil War “Contraband” to U.S. Navy PensionerAfter escaping the plantation where she was enslaved, Stokes boarded a Union hospital ship and volunteered to become a Navy nurse.After escaping the plantation where she was enslaved, Ann Bradford Stokes boarded a Union hospital ship and volunteered to become a Navy nurse. Later, she became the first woman in U.S. Navy history to be granted a military pension for her own service....
Profiles in NursingFlorence McQuillen (1903–1981), “Benevolent Dictator” of Nurse AnesthetistsA scholar and CRNA pioneer, she learned chloroform delivery under pressure at a small hospital in MontanaFlorence “Mack” McQuillen, fondly remembered as the “benevolent dictator” of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) from 1948 to 1970, was an influential leader in nurse anesthesia practice. A Crash Course in Chloroform Born in...

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Profiles in NursingVirginia A. Henderson (1897–1996), Wrote the Book on Modern NursingThe 20th century’s answer to Florence NightingaleNursing care is more than performing a series of tasks — it is a holistic focus on restoring a patient’s health and independence. This once-revolutionary concept is just one of the core elements of nursing practice articulated by Virginia Henderson, a...
Profiles in NursingLouisa May Alcott (1832–1888), From “Hospital Sketches” to “Little Women”A beloved writer, she was also a Civil War nurse, staunch abolitionist and suffragetteBefore achieving fame for her literary accomplishments, Little Women author Louisa May Alcott served as a nurse during the Civil War. Although ill health forced her into premature retirement, her experiences as a nurse and a patient shaped her voice as a...
Profiles in NursingHelen Fairchild (1885-1914), Witness to the Horrors of WWI Poison Gas AttacksWhy chemical weapons were banned by the Geneva ConventionOriginally from a small town in Pennsylvania, Helen Fairchild later became the first American nurse to die in service during World War I, a casualty of that war’s most horrifying weapon: poison gas. The Pennsylvania 64 Helen Fairchild was 26 years old...

RN Career Events

Profiles in NursingCol. Julia Stimson (1881–1948), Army Nurse Corps SuperintendentA decorated officer, she led 20,000 nurses during WWIOnce the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. Armed Forces, Julia Catherine Stimson, RN, served her country as a nurse, a social worker and a leader — including an 18-year tenure as superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps, the longest term in the Corps'...
Profiles in NursingMartha Ballard (1735-1812), Colonial Midwife and DiaristHer remarkable diary reveals a legacy of nursing in 18th century AmericaShe lived and died before Florence Nightingale was even born, but Martha Ballard’s diary still survives, providing us with a remarkable record of the lives of pioneer women and the practice of midwifery during the earliest years of the United States....
Profiles in NursingAgnes Von Kurowsky (1892–1984), Literary MuseThe nurse who inspired Ernest HemingwayNurses sometimes leave a lasting impression on their patients, but seldom one as literary as Agnes Von Kurowsky, the Red Cross nurse who inspired a central character in Ernest Hemingway’s acclaimed novel A Farewell to Arms. Wartime Duty Born in...

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