Bucking the System: Women in the Health
Sciences at the University of Iowa, 1874 - 1950
The History of Nursing
School of Nursing
The position of superintendent of the School of Nursing changed hands ten times from 1900 until the appointment of Lois Blanche Corder in 1927. She was director for 20 years. Many aspects of the School of Nursing changed during this time, including the expansion of the curriculum from a two-year to a three-year program. As part of training, nursing students were assigned to each of the different departments in the General Hospital and Childrens' Hospital for several weeks at a time. This was to insure that upon graduation, the students had experienced all aspects of patient care for adults and children.
| In the early years, student nurses worked in the Hospital to earn their room, board, tuition, and an additional five dollars a month. Their hours were long, up to twelve hours a day, until 1931 when their work day was reduced to eight, except in emergencies. Time spent in class was considered part of the eight hours.
A student nurse dress code was always strictly enforced and one director of the Nursing School, Mary Haarer, was known to inspect students' uniforms regularly. Each young woman was required to lift her skirt slightly to prove she had on a petticoat. The students were not permitted to go downtown in uniform. |
3. Women's ward, University Hospital
circa 1920
In their final year of school, student nurses gained experience
supervising wards and training first year students. |
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4. Nurse's "Muffin" Cap
circa 1910
At the turn of the century, many women had very long hair which the nurse's cap was intended to hold to maintain the hygienic environment necessary for patient care. Early caps covered the whole head and were considered unbecoming by nurses. Muffin caps were worn in the University Hospital until about 1920.
UIHC Medical Museum
Nurse's "Handkerchief" Cap
circa 1940
The handkerchief cap replaced the muffin cap and was much easier to clean, make, and transport. Smaller than previous caps, they covered only the knot of hair at the top of the head.
UIHC Medical Museum
Gift of Elizabeth Keyser Means, RN, 1990 |
Graduate Nurse's Cap
circa 1944
Senior student nurses added a quarter-inch black band to their caps, and graduate nurses replaced that with a half-inch thick band. Graduate nurses wore the cap from their alma mater,regardless of where they worked. As donor Elizabeth Means, RN, remembers, "It gave us a sense of pride and identification and it was always interesting because you could tell what school a girl graduated from by the cap she wore."
UIHC Medical Museum
Gift of Elizabeth Keyser Means, RN, 1989
Red Cross Pin and Certificate
Until the Army and Navy Nurse's Act in 1847 established the Nurse Corps as a permanent staff corps, nurses were recruited for the Military Medical Department by the American Red Cross. Upon graduation, all nurses were expected to join the American Red Cross Nursing Service and thus enter the reserves for the Army and Navy Corps.
Pin courtesy of Etta Rasmussen
Certificate courtesy of Heritage Room Collection, University of Iowa College of Nursing |
| One year following the passing of the Iowa Nurse Practice Act of 1907, the State University of Iowa School of Nursing was approved by the state. The School of Nursing, which subsequently became the College of Nursing, has been continuously accredited ever since. All graduates were therefore eligible to take the State Board Examination and, upon passing the exam, become Registered Nurses.
5. Capping Ceremony
Nurse's caps were no longer part of the standard uniform after 1971. Before that time, nursing students without caps could be identified as beginners or "probies." This probation, later called preclinical period, lasted four months and ended with a capping ceremony. The student in the above photo carries the traditional Florence Nightingale lamp.
Courtesy of the Heritage Room Collection, University of Iowa College of Nursing |
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6. Traditional Florence Nightingale Lamp
Courtesy of the Heritage Room Collection,
University of Iowa College of Nursing |
7. Piano Room, Eastlawn
circa 1915 |
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