Suggestions on Becoming a Senior Nurse Corps Cadet
In 1943, Lucile Petry founded the Cadet Nurse Corps Program in order to help avoid the shortage of nurses the United States faced during World War II. With the aid of the U.S. Public Health Service, the program offered young women between ages of 17 and 35 free nursing education in exchange for a commitment to serve in military or civilian hospitals for the duration of the war. Participants received full tuition, uniforms, textbooks, a monthly stipend, and accelerated training from 36 months down to 24-30 months in order to meet urgent medical needs. The Cadet Nurse Corps became the largest federally funded nurse training program in U.S. history, enrolling over 180,000 women from diverse backgrounds. It played a crucial role in not only strengthening the wartime healthcare system but also in professionalizing nursing and expanding opportunities for women and minorities in the medical field. Although the program ended in 1948, its legacy continues in the form of increased access to nursing education and its influence on the evolution of nursing as a respected profession.
An interesting aspect of the Cadet Nurse Corps was its progressive stance on inclusivity, especially for the time. Unlike many other government programs during the 1940s, the Corps did not officially practice racial segregation, and it actively encouraged the enrollment of minority women, including African American, Native American, and Japanese American students. When analyzing this document, you will notice that it clearly lays out how to succeed in the program, the guidelines to follow, as well as steps needed to be taken in order to become a Senior Cadet Nurse after you complete your cadet program. You may also notice that nowhere on these guidelines is race, gender, or country of origin referenced at all. This is incredibly forward thinking considering the time this was established. This document helps highlight how quite literally anyone could rise through the ranks and become a senior officer in the Cadet Corps Nursing Program.
A Christmas Message to U.S. Cadet Nurses, 1944
The Importance of the U.S. Cadet Corps Nursing Uniform
On duty, Cadet Nurses wore a student uniform and cap of the hospital in which they had begun their nursing career. They were also issued both summer and winter uniforms to wear outside of the hospital. The sleeve patch of the Cadet Nurse Corps displayed the eight-pointed Maltese cross. The sleeve patch with gray background was worn on the winter outdoor uniform.