Alma S. Woolley
Encyclopedia
Alma S. Woolley was an American nurse, nurse educator
, nursing historian, and author. She led several schools of nursing, and authored a number of books and articles on nursing education, the history of nursing education, and nurses.
: Her father, hit by a truck, died on his way to a public hospital
; her maternal grandmother who had worked in a sweatshop
made all her clothes; her widowed mother worked as a stenographer for GM
; but Woolley, who said "as a twelve year old, I admired the smart gray uniforms with the red trimming" of the Cadet Nurse Corps
(during World War II), was selected to go to the elite all-girls Hunter College High School
to which she commuted by public transport one hour each way. At Hunter, she won the all-city Latin Poetry Contest in 1949 and graduated second in her class, subsequently attending Queens College
and then Cornell University's School of Nursing
, which granted her a Bachelor's Degree in 1954. She subsequently joined the Visiting Nurse Service of New York
, married, and worked at a number of hospitals including Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens and, moving to Philadelphia, at Philadelphia General Hospital, and Jefferson Medical College. She later became a nursing instructor at the University of Pennsylvania
, enrolled in their graduate program and was granted an M.S. in medical-surgical nursing
in 1965, an accomplishment which led to one of her early articles in The American Journal of Nursing, "My Lamp Is Refueled," explaining how and why she kept up with her field while rearing four small children.
with her husband and children in 1969, Woolley became an instructor at Atlantic Community College, but was soon offered the task of creating a B.S. degree program in nursing for the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
which had opened its doors in 1971. The original program she designed was for registered nurse
s, R.N.'s, without a university degree, to complete a Bachelor of Science in nursing
. The transition of nursing education from that of R.N.'s trained in non-university programs, to 4-year B.S.N. programs or their equivalent was a matter of advocacy for Woolley as well as profession, and she subsequently published a number of pieces demonstrating the benefits of university-based nursing programs.
In 1980 she was awarded a doctorate in nursing education by the University of Pennsylvania
. In 1981, she was appointed Director of the School of Nursing at Illinois Wesleyan University
and the Caroline F. Rupert Professor of Nursing, and in 1986 left Wesleyan to become Dean of Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies. In 1989 she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cornell School of Nursing Alumni Association. She stepped down as dean of Georgetown's School of Nursing in 1992 and returned to teaching and writing, retiring as professor emeritus of nursing in 1996, and becoming visiting professor at both the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, Md, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
.
She wrote or contributed to biographies of nurses including Maude Francis Essig who served with American combat troops in World War I, and Virginia Matthews Dunbar, an early advocate of university curricula for nurses.
Reflecting her view that "the history of nursing education is an important lacuna in general histories of nursing" and that "as part of public history in the United States
, nursing education can cite many accomplishments in the realm of health care policy," Woolley also published histories of nursing schools, including "Nuns and Guns" and Learning, Faith and Caring. But before her death in 2005, she was working on oral histories of women who, like her, had been recently admitted as members to the once all-male Cosmos Club
of Washington, D.C.
Nurse educator
A nurse educator is a nurse who teaches and prepares licensed practical nurses and registered nurses for entry into practice positions. They can also teach in various patient care settings to provide continuing education to licensed nursing staff...
, nursing historian, and author. She led several schools of nursing, and authored a number of books and articles on nursing education, the history of nursing education, and nurses.
Early years and education
Woolley grew up a child of the depression in the Bronx, New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: Her father, hit by a truck, died on his way to a public hospital
Public hospital
A public hospital or government hospital is a hospital which is owned by a government and receives government funding. This type of hospital provides medical care free of charge, the cost of which is covered by the funding the hospital receives....
; her maternal grandmother who had worked in a sweatshop
Sweatshop
Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
made all her clothes; her widowed mother worked as a stenographer for GM
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
; but Woolley, who said "as a twelve year old, I admired the smart gray uniforms with the red trimming" of the Cadet Nurse Corps
Cadet Nurse Corps
The Cadet Nurse Corps Program was supervised by the United States Public Health Service to train nurses during World War II. After America entered the war, the demand for nurses increased dramatically, outstripping the supply and creating a shortage....
(during World War II), was selected to go to the elite all-girls Hunter College High School
Hunter College High School
Hunter College High School is a New York City secondary school for intellectually gifted students located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It is administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York. Although it is not operated by the New York City Department of...
to which she commuted by public transport one hour each way. At Hunter, she won the all-city Latin Poetry Contest in 1949 and graduated second in her class, subsequently attending Queens College
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
and then Cornell University's School of Nursing
Cornell School of Nursing
The Cornell University School of Nursing was founded in 1877 as the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses, in New York, New York. As a part of New York Hospital, the school began its connection with Cornell University when Cornell's Medical College affiliated with New York Hospital in 1927...
, which granted her a Bachelor's Degree in 1954. She subsequently joined the Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Visiting Nurse Service of New York is the largest and oldest not-for-profit home health care provider in the United States.Lillian Wald, the founder of VNSNY, began making home nursing visits in 1893....
, married, and worked at a number of hospitals including Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens and, moving to Philadelphia, at Philadelphia General Hospital, and Jefferson Medical College. She later became a nursing instructor at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, enrolled in their graduate program and was granted an M.S. in medical-surgical nursing
Medical-surgical nursing
Medical-surgical nursing is a nursing specialty area concerned with the care of adult patients in a broad range of settings. The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses is a specialty nursing organization dedicated to nurturing medical-surgical nurses as they advance their careers...
in 1965, an accomplishment which led to one of her early articles in The American Journal of Nursing, "My Lamp Is Refueled," explaining how and why she kept up with her field while rearing four small children.
Career
Having moved to New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
with her husband and children in 1969, Woolley became an instructor at Atlantic Community College, but was soon offered the task of creating a B.S. degree program in nursing for the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, located in Galloway Township, New Jersey, an hour from Philadelphia and 20 minutes from Atlantic City, is an undergraduate and graduate college of the arts, sciences and professional studies of the New Jersey system of higher education. The College was...
which had opened its doors in 1971. The original program she designed was for registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
s, R.N.'s, without a university degree, to complete a Bachelor of Science in nursing
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing is an American four year academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by a tertiary education university or similarly accredited school...
. The transition of nursing education from that of R.N.'s trained in non-university programs, to 4-year B.S.N. programs or their equivalent was a matter of advocacy for Woolley as well as profession, and she subsequently published a number of pieces demonstrating the benefits of university-based nursing programs.
In 1980 she was awarded a doctorate in nursing education by the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. In 1981, she was appointed Director of the School of Nursing at Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
and the Caroline F. Rupert Professor of Nursing, and in 1986 left Wesleyan to become Dean of Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies. In 1989 she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cornell School of Nursing Alumni Association. She stepped down as dean of Georgetown's School of Nursing in 1992 and returned to teaching and writing, retiring as professor emeritus of nursing in 1996, and becoming visiting professor at both the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, Md, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is a health science university run by the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps....
.
She wrote or contributed to biographies of nurses including Maude Francis Essig who served with American combat troops in World War I, and Virginia Matthews Dunbar, an early advocate of university curricula for nurses.
Reflecting her view that "the history of nursing education is an important lacuna in general histories of nursing" and that "as part of public history in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, nursing education can cite many accomplishments in the realm of health care policy," Woolley also published histories of nursing schools, including "Nuns and Guns" and Learning, Faith and Caring. But before her death in 2005, she was working on oral histories of women who, like her, had been recently admitted as members to the once all-male Cosmos Club
Cosmos Club
The Cosmos Club is a private social club in Washington, D.C., founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878. In addition to Powell, original members included Clarence Edward Dutton, Henry Smith Pritchett, William Harkness, and John Shaw Billings. Among its stated goals is "The advancement of its members in...
of Washington, D.C.