Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1994 A history of the Rush University, College of Nursing and the development of the unification model 1972-1988 Barbara Anne Fisli Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Fisli, Barbara Anne, "A history of the Rush University, College of Nursing and the development of the unification model 1972-1988" (1994). Dissertations. 3042. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/3042 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1994 Barbara Anne Fisli LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO A HISTORY OF THE RUSH UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF NURSING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIFICATION MODEL 1972-1988 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND POLICY STUDIES BY BARBARA ANNE FISLI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS JANUARY, 1994 Copyright by Barbara Anne Fisli, 1994 All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks is extended to Gerald Gutek, Ph.D., chairperson of my dissertation committee and my advisor. His direction and support has assisted me throughout my studies at Loyola. I also want to thank my committee members, Steven Miller, Ph.D., Joan Smith, Ph.D., and Sally Brozenec, Ph.D., for all their support and assistance in developing my interest in historical research. I want to acknowledge the support by my co workers at Rush University, especially Mildred Perlia, Linda Curgian and Barbara E. Schmidt. I also want to thank Stuart Campbell, Ph.D. and Michael Bullington, the archivists at the Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center. Their support in locating the necessary documents on the history of all four schools was invaluable. Last but not least, I want to thank my family, all my brothers, sisters, their spouses and children. I appreciate all your support. I especially want to thank my mother, Margaret J. Rapp, who was always there to reassure me on my ability to obtain my goals. Finally, I want to thank my husband, John and the light of my life, my daughter Julia, who were understanding and supportive during the trials and triumphs of this growing experience. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • • • . • • . • • • • . • • • • • • • • iii PART I. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF NURSING EDUCATION AT RUSH-PRESBYTERIAN-ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL PRIOR TO ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RUSH COLLEGE OF NURSING Chapter I. ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF NURSING ••• 6 II. PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF NURSING. • 46 III. PRESBYTERIAN-ST. LUKE'S SCHOOL OF NURSING. 87 PART II. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE UNIFICATION MODEL IN NURSING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSH COLLEGE OF NURSING IV. UNIFICATION MODEL IN NURSING •.•.•.•.••• 113 V. THE BEGINNING OF RUSH UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF NURSING AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE UNIFICATION MODEL • . • . • • • • • • • • 140 VI. ADMINISTRATION OF LUTHER CHRISTMAN . • • 165 VII. SUMMARY AND FUTURE RESEARCH. 229 Appendix I. STATE OF ILLINOIS, DEPARTMENT OF STATE .• 240 II. STATE OF ILLINOIS, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE . • • . • • • . • . • 243 III. RULES FOR PUPIL NURSES . 247 IV. CURRICULUM, 1953-1954 .• • 251 v. BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEMO . • . 2 58 VI. RULES FOR THE HOME • . • • • 261 VII. BYLAWS OF THE FACULTY ORGANIZATION • . • • • 264 VIII. OUTLINE OF COURSES 1915-1916 • . • . 269 IX. CURRICULUM PRESBYTERIAN SCHOOL OF NURSING. • • 271 iv x. BYLAWS OF THE FACULTY ORGANIZATION • • • 274 XI. PRE HEALTH CURRICULUM. • • • 279 XII. UPPER DIVISION TO RUSH COLLEGE OF NURSING. • • 281 XIII. TEACHING-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. • • • • • 283 XIV. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK . • • • 285 XV. NURSING DIRECTORS OF ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF NURSING. • . • • • • • • • • • • • 2 8 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY • 288 VITA v PART I HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF NURSING EDUCATION AT RUSH­ PRESBYTERIAN-ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL PRIOR TO ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RUSH COLLEGE OF NURSING The history of nursing education at Rush-Presbyterian­ st. Luke's Medical Center dates back to the late 1800's. This historical overview will chronologically examine the following three schools of nursing that eventually developed into the Rush College of Nursing: St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, and Presbyterian-st. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing. In order to understand the development of Rush College of Nursing, it is important to examine the history of each of these organizations and the effect they had in the development of Rush College of Nursing. Nursing in the early nineteenth century was mainly taught by an apprentice type of system. The competency of a nurse trained by apprenticeship depended upon the skilled nurse from whom the student nurse learned the art of nursing. Very few women worked outside of their homes at this point in history. It was thought that women did not have the ability nor the stamina for higher education and that their entry into careers would destroy the foundation 2 of the family. 1 Women were to be taken care of by their husbands, fathers or brothers, and working outside the home was not done by "true ladies." Society, at this time, believed that women needed to learn to read and write to perform household tasks but education beyond this elementary level was unnecessary. Hospitals were one of the few places where poor and uneducated women who needed to work outside their home could find employment. 2 Women were believed to have a natural instinct to be nurturing persons and required little or no training to care for the sick. The only other alternative for women at this time was employment as common school teachers. Florence Nightingale professed that all individuals had a responsibility to assist in improving mankind. 3 Nightingale's personal philosophy was embedded in nursing and she is seen as the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale's philosophy not only included helping patients to survive and recover, but encompassed environmental effects on health, nutritional aspects, and the necessity for spiritual well being. 4 Her work in the Crimean war 1 Isabel M. Stewart, The Education of Nurses (New York: MacMillan Co., 1943), 31. 2 Philip A. Kalisch and Beatrice J. Kalisch, The Advance of American Nursing (Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, 1986), 95. 3 Stewart, 46. 4 Ibid., 48. 3 was a mechanism by which she could test her beliefs regarding care of the sick. Florence Nightingale was a promoter of proper nutrition, fresh air and cleanliness to assist the healing process of the sick. Even though she believed that cleanliness was an important factor in the healing process, she did not accept the germ theory that was being promoted by scientists. Florence Nightingale's experience with healing the sick had a major impact on the development of nursing and nursing education around the world. Another factor that influenced the development of nursing education in the United States was the civil War. Many soldiers died not from their wounds but from improper care, from plagues, and exposure to other diseases. Many women who went to the different camps to help with the sick were appalled by the lack of care for the soldiers. When these women returned home, they began to question the care of patients in the few hospitals that existed in their communities. Many influential women and physicians had heard about Florence Nightingale's work and wanted to reform health care in the United states along her principles. They met much resistance from the medical profession that still felt that women were not strong or intelligent enough to carry out the needed care for the sick. In 1869, Dr. Samuel D. Gross presented the issue of nursing training at the American Medical Association 4 meeting. Dr. Gross wanted to establish a nation-wide training program for nurses. The Nightingale system for nursing education had been developed by this time and was discussed, but Dr. Gross felt that the Nightingale system could be improved upon by bringing it under the control of the physicians. His recommendations were the following: 1. All large organized hospitals should have a training program for nurses to supply the hospital as well as the community with well trained nurses; 2. Religious organization and nursing education could be combined as a means of organizing nursing education; 3. The local medical societies could form training programs for nurses; 4. Newly formed local nursing societies would receive special consideration for employment over the uneducated practitioners; 5. Qualifications of the nurse should include being of strong physical stature, between the age of 22-35 years, be able to read, write, be gentle, courageous, honest, punctual, possess a good moral character, and be willing to perform her duties. The candidate must also have good observation abilities and have a strong basic knowledge in the nursing art. 5 Even though Gross's recommendations were widely publicized, little was done by local medical associations to implement them. 6 Many physicians and hospital managers 5 Ibid., 85-6. 6 Ibid., 85-6. 5 feared that educated nurses would usurp the authority and control of their medical counterparts within the organization of the hospital. The actual development of training schools was promoted by well meaning and caring citizens who wanted to improve the health care of the poor. St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago bore this out in its development. CHAPTER I ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL SCHOOL OF NURSING st. Luke's Hospital was established in 1864 by Rev. Clinton Locke, pastor of (Episcopal) Grace Church, and the ladies of the Camp Douglas Aid Society.