Background
* “First Lady of Nursing” * “First Truly Internetional Nurse” * “The Nightingale of modern Nursing” * “The 20th century Florence Nightingale” * Born in Kansa City, Missouri, in 1897 and is the 5th child of the family of 8th children but spent her formative years in virginia. * Received a Diploma in Nursing from the Army School of Nursing at Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C. in 1921. * Worked at the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service for 2 years after graduation. * In 1923, she accepted a position teaching nursing at the Norfolk Protestant Hospital at Virginia, where she remained for several years. * In 1929, Henderson determined that she needed more education and entered Teachers College at Columbia University where she earned her; Bachelor’s Degree in 1932, Master’s Degree in 1934. * Subsequently, she joined Columbia as a member of the faculty, where she remained until 1948 (Hermann, 1998). * Since 1935, she has been a research associate at Yale University School of Nursing. * Died: March 19, 1996.
Achievements
* Virginia Henderson was a well known as Nursing Educator and a Prolific Author. * She received Honorary Doctoral Degrees from the: * Catholic university of America * Pace University * University of Rochester * University of Western Ontario * Yale University * Her stature as a nurse, teacher, author, researcher, and consumer health advocate warranted an obituary in the New York Times, Friday, March 22, 1996. * In 1985 Miss Henderson was honored at the Annual Meeting of the Nursing and Allied Health Section of the Medical Library Association.
Contributions
* In 1937 Henderson and others, created a basic nursing curriculum for the National League for Nursing in which education was “Patient centered and organized around nursing problems rather than medical diagnoses.” (Henderson, 1991) * In 1939, she revised: Harmer’s