Projection to Completion Clinical Program, 1959-61
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Contributor
Tate Archives and Special Collections
Contributor Institution
Illinois Wesleyan University
Creation Date
1959
Document Type
Report
Description
This document outlines the projected curriculum and clinical program for the Brokaw School of Nursing of Illinois Wesleyan University. The table outlines required course hours and practice hours based on class year, number of students projected to be in each class and number of clinical instructors needed to supervise students.
Primary Source Analysis
The Brokaw Diploma School of Nursing was incorporated into the Brokaw Hospital in 1902. Twenty-one years later, the program began to work in conjunction with Illinois Wesleyan University to provide a five-year combined collegiate and professional course program which led to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wesleyan and a Graduate Nurse Diploma from Brokaw. Students would attend Brokaw for three years to receive “technical” nursing education and two years at Wesleyan for liberal arts education.
In May of 1956, Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees and Brokaw’s Board of Directors modified this program to establish the Brokaw School of Nursing of Illinois Wesleyan, which led to a path to the initial planning of Illinois Wesleyan University’s School of Nursing program in 1958. This program differed from the original program as it was only years, allowed students to qualify for state testing at the end of the fourth year without additional training, and distributed professional nursing education throughout all four years instead of obtaining education at two different locations. With the growing need for graduate-trained nurses in the field, the impending closing of Brokaw’s Diploma school in 1961, and the inability to achieve accreditation from the already established program, Wesleyan worked meticulously for a year to formulate the foundation for this new program. By September 1959, IWU’s School of Nursing opened its doors to its first class of nursing students.
Within its first year, Wesleyan’s nursing program faced issues with being recognized as an accredited baccalaureate nursing program by the League of Nurses, as there had to be at least one graduating class before an accreditation approval could be conducted. This barrier led to difficulties in students receiving federal scholarships that deemed funding would not be received until they transferred to a school with an already established accredited program. However, by May of 1963, Wesleyan officially received state and national accreditation, allowing its first baccurate nursing students to graduate with full recognition.
Almost 100 years later, Wesleyan continues to produce exceptional prospective nurses through a rigorous curriculum, hands-on clinical experience, and commitment to holistic care.
Rights
For rights information, contact Tate Archives & Special Collections at achives@iwu.edu.
Source
7-5/4/1 School of Nursing Program & Curriculum Development - Projection to Completion Clinical Program 1959-61