Sandra B. Lewenson

The Power of Partnerships: Changing People and Systems.

Abstract This is a story of partnership, investing, and planned change. It is a story of tremendous learning and growth, anticipated outcomes, and a few surprises. The process of undergraduate curriculum reform at Pace University, in conjunction with grant preparation, led to the development of partnerships between and among individuals. As these partnerships evolved, organizations, people, and systems changed.

Intergenerational Lessons and ‘Fabulous Stories’

OverviewWhile directing the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, Susan B. Hassmiller, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations senior adviser for nursing, realized the value that nursing history could bring to the campaign. She decided to interview her mother, Jacqueline J. Wouwenberg, a 1947 graduate of the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing, in order to better understand and contextualize changes that had occurred in the nursing profession during the 20th century. In collaboration with nurse historians Cathryne A. Welch and Sandra B. Lewenson, Hassmiller participated in interviewing her mother and was also interviewed herself. The stories that emerged revealed a great deal: each woman had found that nursing had given them countless opportunities that reflected the time periods in which they lived. Wouwenbergs experiences, transmitted to Hassmiller through words and actions, also served as important lessons for her daughter. This article shares five lessons: be independent and courageous, know that nursing has no bounds, follow your passion, honor diversity, and give back. It also asks readers to reflect on the relevance of nurses’ work from one generation to the next..

Nurses' Training May Be Shifted: The Story of Bellevue and Hunter College, 1942-1969

During the mid-20th century, nursing leaders advocated moving nursing education out of hospital-based programs and into colleges and universities for the purpose of preparing nurses to meet the demands of increasingly complex health care situations. Nursing leaders in New York City’s municipal hospitals recognized the value of this change and sought to increase the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses to fill the many vacancies within city hospitals. This article examines the political support New York gave to the expansion of Hunter College’s baccalaureate program in nursing (a college within the City University of New York system) while closing the almost 100-year-old Bellevue and Mills Schools of Nursing diploma program. The efforts to change nursing at Bellevue started in the 1940s, but the transfer to Hunter College was not realized until 1967. Although the decision to close the diploma school met resistance among various stakeholders, the expansion ultimately succeeded. It was supported by the New York City Department of Hospitals and received approval from the Board of Estimates and Board of Higher Education. Both Bellevue and Hunter’s leadership was ready to make this change and participated in this transformation.

Healing Traditions: Alternative Methods and the Health Professions

functional equivalent. This book is rich in both qualitative md quantitative data and rich in insight and analysis. The author uses social science and historiographic methods. His interpretation of the data is enriched by his experience in state hospital administration. His conclusions are less condemnatory than h o s e of some other socid scientists and historians who study such institutions. It is refreshing to have serious mnsideration of the state mental hospitals enduring importance addressed in the history of the care of the mentally ill. This bookis for anyone who cares for the mentally ill and who is concerned about their future. It is also for the student of organizational theory, public policy, and health care reform. Finally, as historical research, the author offers some alternative conclusions about the history of psychiatric nursing in the American state hospital.