History of Nursing Archives at Boston University Special Collections

The first American edition (and the third edition overall), with notes and additions, of this early nursing handbook also intended for home use.

The text that founded the modern profession of nursing. Facsimile reprint of the original 1859 edition, with a foreword by Annie W. Goodrich.

An early nursing manual, from first United States nursing school founded based on Florence Nightingale’s principles.

A nursing manual from an influential early US nurse training program, New Haven Hospital’s Connecticut Training School.

A nursing manual by Charles James Cullingworth, a British physician who was helped found the fields of midwifery and obstetrics.

An early memoir/essay by a working nurse; less of a medical guidebook and more of a collection of practical advice and thoughts on caregiving.

The first nursing textbook, written by a foundational figure in the history of nursing; it standardized the field of nursing education in the United States.

Section of a longer 1904 work by Mary Adelaide Nutting, an key figure in the modernization of nursing. Excerpted by the US Department of Education.

Memoir from the first professionally trained American nurse. For more on Linda Richards, see the Linda Richards Papers in the archival collections.

Proceedings of the NLNE, which advanced nursing education in 1915 by presenting the first standardized curriculum.

A popular memoir (with some disputed authenticity) of Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman who claimed to serve as a man with the Union Army as well as a nurse and spy.

From the preface: "[In the US Civil War] the army nurse was obliged to respond to duty at all times and in all emergencies. She could not measure her time, sleep, or strength. She was under orders to serve to the fullest. The remarkable experiences which fell to the lot of these women are revealed in the following pages".

A memoir, created from her edited diaries, of the American nurse and abolitionist Mary Phinney von Olnhausen, who served as a nurse during both the US Civil War of 1861-1865 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871; now mainly read for its depictions of Civil War field medicine.

A collection of poems by Brookes More, reflecting her experiences as a nurse serving in World War I.

A collection of letters written by Julia C. Stimson, an American Army Chief Nurse, during her service at a British hospital in France during World War I.

An early history of the US Army Nurse Corps, established in 1901. Also see the Mary M. Roberts papers in the archival collections.

Memoir of a nurse who served in the US Army Nurse Corps in World War II.

The memoir of a nurse who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Profiles the military career of Bronze Star recipient Cammermeyer, who served for 26 years before being abruptly discharged for being a lesbian.

A history of ninety-nine Army and Navy nurses who served on the front lines in the Pacific Theater during World War II and were eventually captured and imprisoned by Japan during World War II.

A history of the service of the US Army Nurse Corps during World War II.

Often referred as the Winslow-Goldmark report, this work advocated for a major reform of US nursing education, including collaboration with universities and colleges.

One of the earliest histories of Black American nurses and nursing, by Adah B. Thoms, co-founder of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses.

An influential text from the organization that paved the way for modern nursing education accreditation programs.

An early work of nursing occupational health that critiqued the outdated hierarchies and disciplinary systems that persisted in hospital wards of the time.

A cornerstone of modern nursing theory and practice. Originally published in 1922 by Bertha Harmer it was quickly adopted as the standard nursing textbook across the discipline. This edition is one of three editions revised and edited by Virginia Henderson after Harmer's death in 1934. Also see the Virginia Henderson Papers in the archival collections.

An influential report sponsored by the National Nursing Council that set the stage for the future of school of nursing curricula and other aspects of the nursing profession.

A compilation of pieces reflecting the move into multidisciplinary nursing, incorporating psychology, the social sciences, and other approaches into a holistic view of patient care.

A text reflecting the growth of "community health nursing" in the 1960s, describing services provided by private, community-based, non-profit organizations, not government agencies.

Commonly referred to as the Lysaught Commission (for co-author Jerome P. Lysaught), this milestone report proposed various reforms to nursing education that set the stage for the next several decades.

Madeleine Leininger's original text in this field, which incorporates insights from anthropology together with nursing theory and practice. Also see the Madeleine Leininger papers in the archival collections.

A significant work of scholarship, by one of the founding figures of Black American women's history.

A guide for successfully reorganizing hospitals to improve services and outcomes, written by the creator of the primary nursing model.

A significant recent work in nursing education, advocating for reform in the face of current shifts in labor, technology, and health care economics that have posed new challenges to the field of nursing.