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Contributor
Tate Archives & Special Collections
Contributor Institution
Illinois Wesleyan University
Creation Date
1-1945
Document Type
Report
Description
This collection includes documents from several nurses applying to the Brokaw Hospital School of Nursing in Normal, Illinois during 1945 as part of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps. It features application materials, rejection letters, textbook price lists, cadet release forms, and details about course offerings through IWU. Many applicants were denied Senior Cadet positions due to timing, and the documents outline the step-by-step process of entering nursing school, receiving training, and transitioning into the profession. Also includes lists of other institutions that would offer these nurses postgraduate education. It provides a fascinating glimpse into nursing education during WWII.
Primary Source Analysis
This collection of documents from the Brokaw Hospital School of Nursing offers an close look at the experiences of nursing students during the final months of World War II. Among the most striking pieces are multiple rejection letters—signed by Sue S. Dauser, Director of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps—to cadet nurses Beatrice M. Claggett, Better B. Ubbenga, and Gladys M.G. Kohrt. Each letter communicates that the students' applications to serve in naval hospitals were denied due to the “Senior Cadet Period begun,” a formal signal that the window for enlistment had closed. While impersonal in tone, these letters subtly reflect the administrative yet deeply impactful policies shaping women’s opportunities in wartime nursing.
Rights
For rights information, contact Tate Archives & Special Collections at archives@iwu.edu.
Source
7-5/4/11 School of Nursing - Cadet Nurse Corps (Folder 5 of 8) Jan-Jun 1945"