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by Vicky Cerino, UNMC public affairs
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| Officials participating in the
"Bandage-cutting" ceremony were, from left: Leslie Gleaves,
Minnie Thornton, Nancy Schneckloth, UNMC Chancellor Harold M.
Maurer, M.D.; Ada Lindsey, Ph.D., UNMC College of Nursing dean
emeritus; Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the UNMC College of
Nursing; and Audrey Nelson, Ph.D., faculty, alumnus, and
chairwoman of the UNMC College of Nursing and Alumni History
Museum committee. Photo by Dan Brick. |
It was Oct. 16, 1917. University Hospital
was open just a few months when the University of Nebraska School for
Nurses admitted its first students. With two faculty members and 13
students, the school's mission was to "develop nurses of the best type."
Things have changed since the days when
only unmarried women between the ages of 19 and 35 were considered for
admission to nursing school.
More than 9,000 have graduated from what
is now the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing.
They've saved and improved the lives of countless people in Nebraska, as
well as all over the country and world.
In a "bandage-cutting" ceremony Friday
(June 3), officials unveiled the UNMC College of Nursing and Alumni
History Museum, which documents its history of nursing education and
care. The museum, located on the third floor of the college in Room
3000, will be open to the campus and public today from 1 to 4 p.m.
Admission is free.
The history project was the vision of
UNMC College of Nursing Dean Emeritus Ada Lindsey, Ph.D., who said it's
important to honor the college's history and alumni with a museum. She
thanked all those who helped bring the museum to fruition.
"When I arrived as dean of the college,
I was struck by the fact that Nancy Schneckloth and others had put
together a book about the history of the College of Nursing," Dr.
Lindsey said. "A small office room in the college had been designated
for the alumni to store items of historical interest, but it was not a
place that others could see anything.
"As I began to meet alums and hear their
stories at reunions, I realized the college's long and rich history,"
she said. "I think it is important to preserve those memories of history
and development of the nursing profession. It also is important to have
a place to showcase the various periods of the college's history of
contributions to nursing education, practice, and research and to
community and professional service."
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, UNMC
Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., congratulated those involved with the
museum on a wonderful gift to the medical center and College of Nursing.
"Our goal at UNMC is to be a world-class health science center, and the
College of Nursing museum really contributes to that goal," Dr. Maurer
said.
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| The museum was the vision of
UNMC College of Nursing Dean Emeritus Ada Lindsey, Ph.D., far
right. The museum opens under the leadership of Virginia Tilden,
D.N.Sc., far left, current and fourth dean of the UNMC College
of Nursing. In between, from left, are alumni association
members and museum organizers, Minnie Thornton, Nancy
Schneckloth, Audrey Nelson, Ph.D., and Leslie Gleaves.
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The museum opens under the leadership of
Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., current and fourth dean of the UNMC College of
Nursing, who began her deanship in 2003. During the ribbon-cutting
ceremony, Dr. Tilden thanked those who helped bring the museum to
reality, including its donors.
"This small room has a very big place in
our hearts," Dr. Tilden said. "It enhances the college's ability to
capture the rich tapestry of its history."
The museum traces its roots from an
Omaha school that initially offered a three-year nursing diploma and a
bachelor's of arts or science degree to one that established a bachelor
of science degree in nursing, and Nebraska's first master's and doctoral
degrees in nursing, as well as the nurse practitioner specialty.
From its humble beginnings, one thing
has remained the same at the university through 88 years: admission
standards.
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| Nancy Schneckloth, left, and
Audrey Nelson, Ph.D., demonstrate how skirt length requirements
of 10 inches from the ground was enforced by Charlotte Burgess,
first director of nursing at University Hospital.
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Charlotte Burgess, the first director of
nursing at the hospital, was adamant about high admission standards. In
the book, "The University of Nebraska College of Nursing, 1917-1987,"
Schneckloth quotes Burgess as saying she wanted candidates with more
than a strong back to be able to move patients, "Ice-men can be found at
42nd and Leavenworth - what I want is nurses with brains."
The school's 100 percent pass rate for
nursing board examinations was a source of great pride. Today, the
college continues to receive an abundance of applications from highly
qualified students.
The college has consistently
incorporated nursing education needs across the state. Distance
education programs were first born from the need to serve rural
Nebraskans. They now also serve as an instrument to resolve the nursing
shortage in rural and urban areas. Nursing instruction has gone from
lectures, films and procedure manuals to incorporating the Internet. And
research plays an important role in student education and as a way to
improve the lives of patients.
The college, based in Omaha, also has
divisions in Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff. The museum is organized
into four areas: education, scholarship and research, student life and
service.
The museum's display windows contain
three nursing uniforms, including the blue- and white-checkered
"probationer" uniform student nurses wore four- to six-months until
faculty decided whether they met the school's requirements.
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| Minnie Thornton, right, and
Nancy Scheckloth ready the museum for its opening.
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Inside are touch screen computer stations,
featuring historical facts and taped memories of alumni. Displays
include a collection of artifacts, photographs and college records.
Spearheading the project was Audrey Nelson, Ph.D., associate professor
of nursing and chairwoman of the UNMC College of Nursing and Alumni
History Museum committee.
The committee included alumni Minnie
Thornton and Nancy Schneckloth; Elizabeth Kentopp, 1948 alum and former
clinical instructor in obstetrics; Carol Wilson, former director of
University Hospital nursing service; Rosalee Yeaworth, Ph.D., dean of
the UNMC College of Nursing from 1979 to 1994; and Leslie Gleaves,
alumnus and UNMC nursing faculty member. Other alumni who helped were
Bevely Hays, Lorraine Hedman, Muriel Munchrath, Dorothy Patach and Ann
Van Hoff.
Thanks also went to Dan Brick, Patricia
Carstens, Brian Lugers, Pat Rejda, Stephen Smith and Alan Wass. |
