American Hospital Association Letter
The letter from the American Hospital Association (AHA) to hospital administrators on August 18, 1943, shows just how serious the nursing shortage was during World War II. It stresses how important it was for hospitals to help recruit student nurses for the United States Cadet Nurse Corps. This response to the wartime healthcare crisis really shows how national emergencies can impact nursing. The letter encourages hospitals to work as information hubs and team up with groups like the Catholic Hospital Association and the American Protestant Hospital Association. This kind of teamwork was so important to tackling the huge healthcare challenges they were facing. The goal of recruiting 65,000 student nurses shows just how urgent the situation was and how much hospitals needed to step up to make sure there were enough nurses.
One thing that really stands out in this letter is how it talks about nursing as not just patient care but also something crucial for stability and the war effort. This still feels relevant today, especially when you think about how hospitals struggled with nursing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just like in World War II, hospitals had to quickly find ways to recruit and train more nurses. Even though the specifics of staffing shortages have changed, having enough dedicated nurses is still super important.
It also connects to how nursing education works today. For example, Illinois Wesleyan University's School of Nursing focuses on preparing students to handle the challenges of modern healthcare, similar to how the Cadet Nurse Corps trained nurses for wartime. The program emphasizes leadership, hands-on clinical experience, and excellence, which shows the same urgency for well-trained nurses that we see in the 1943 letter. Nursing students today are also encouraged to get involved with public health efforts, which is a lot like how hospitals worked hard to recruit nurses during World War II.
This letter is an important historical document because it shows how nursing has always played a huge role in public health and national well-being. The strategies they used back then, like government-supported training programs and hospitals working together, still influence how we approach nursing education and workforce development today. Illinois Wesleyan's Nursing program continues this legacy by training future nurses to handle today’s healthcare challenges, proving that having a strong nursing workforce is always essential.
Cadet Corps Class Photo, taken in 1945:
Top Row: Rene Miller, Nancy Noper, Helen Bowers, Janice Hodgson, Billie Rush Duffel, Dorthy Yorkers, Vera Mae Morris
Second Row: Louise Yapen, Wilma Aunter, Mary Francis Walden, Donnie Thompson, Doris Jean Schewe, Cleo Burger
Third Row: Shirley Blaine, Joan Wenler, Dora Kramer, Hazel Baldwin, Jene Yorkers, ""Sunny"" Weston, Bernadine Meadows
Bottom Row: Maxine Hammond, Betty Flemming, Laurie Winter, Mrs. Evelyn Laurtz, Aline Rasendohl (?), Joyce Adams, Rudy Brewer.