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Welcome to this episode of Nursing EDge Unscripted Saga where we journey through the history of nursing education using stories that connect the past to the present and then our future as we reimagine our teaching, learning, and scholarship. It is often said that the past teaches us about the present - to study history is to study change.
This year Saga gives voice to nursing through the words of our early nurse leaders who organized a discipline and carved out systems to formalize the education of nurses throughout the United States. In Their Own Words illuminates the visionary work of NLN pathfinders who question traditional curriculum paradigms and in the process, co-created standards for nursing education to build the
discipline of nursing. Throughout this year we described accomplishments to reform nursing education and discussed the evolution of nursing education research during the 19th century, through the words of nursing education's early leaders, documented from the proceedings of NLN annual conventions from 1893 to 1952. These publications are part of the NLN Archives Collection currently housed at the Bates Center for the History of
Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. This month we will build on these foci and highlight how the Superintendent's Society and then the National League for Nursing Education or NLNE led a movement to bring excellence, inclusivity, and diversity of thought ideas and perspectives to nursing education leaders and faculty. Yet
diversity of membership occurred slowly. In fact, it wasn't until 1940 almost 50 years after the origin of the Society when eligibility of membership was open to all; a diversified student body in integrated schools of nursing would take many more years. As early as 1909, at the 15th annual meeting of the Society in St. Paul, Minnesota. Isabelle Hampton Robb spoke about the importance of annual gatherings to bring diverse voices together to confer about the serious
business of educational reform. She asked the delegates to rethink the focus of training to include ward cleanliness and discipline, but not at the expense of putting the comfort of the patient first. Her tenacity to challenge long-held beliefs and celebrate the coming together as colleagues to listen, discuss, and embrace diversity of thought would set the tone for the next century.
In her words: "I have ventured to say things to you as they have been said for your thoughtful consideration, for I feel confident that if such is the case in any degree as a body of earnest women devoted to your work, you will do all in your power to make things different." In subsequent years, members of the society and the NLNE embraced Mrs. Robb's call to welcome reform
and challenge traditional assumptions. By the turn of the 20th century, leaders of the Society and the NLNE daringly spoke about the need to embrace
a broader understanding of the nurses' role. For example, in 1920 at the 26th annual meeting of the NLNE, S. Lillian Clayton discussed the emerging role of of the community health nurse as clinician, scientist, and educator, calling on delegates to envision the nurse "not merely as a practitioner, but as a teacher...with a vision of right relationships and a talent for effective
presentations." at the same time, members of the NLNE engaged in debate about whether mental work, as the term was used, should be relegated solely to the state hospitals or if mental work belonged as part of the hospital-based nursing curriculum. What is more, the NLNE opened dialogue about the need for movement to higher education as the basis for instruction, touting the advantages to include new knowledge, science, and ethics
as well as technique. These ideas were radical departures from traditional customs and standards that hygiene, ward cleanliness, and technical skills defined the nursing role. Diversity of settings and practice and of methods to teach nursing permeated the era and broadened nursing education's scope and
practice. Even the decision of the NLNE in 1930 to no longer publish a standardized curriculum, but rather to provide recommendations to offer schools the opportunity to innovate and experiment with content delivery and teaching strategies, reveals the unrelenting commitment of NLNE leadership to challenge long-held beliefs and foster an openness to diverse thinking. Yet, racial diversity of membership and of students in nursing programs
was not discussed or fostered as a priority. In fact, at the mid-century, most nursing education programs maintained strict racial segregation. In 1950, only 6% of all graduate and student nurses in the United States were Black, and the nursing educational system remained highly segregated with separate schools of nursing for individuals
who identified as Black. At the time, a mere 200 out of approximately 1,200 schools of nursing had at least one black student and graduates faced a divided employment field and did not participate equally. Join us for part two as we explore the NLN's journey to embrace a core value of diversity and inclusivity, both through organizational and philosophical changes, recognizing the need to celebrate the richness that differences bring
forth. And so the Saga continues and may our Saga continue as we bring to a close this episode of Nursing EDge Unscripted Saga. Thank you for joining us and remember: good teaching doesn't just happen...find your fit, push the boundaries, and celebrate the ahas. [Music]