Mary Adelaide Nutting

Mary Adelaide Nutting (November 1, 1858 – October 3, 1948) was a Canadian nurse, educator, and pioneer in the field of hospital care. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University's first nurse training program in 1891, Nutting helped to found a modern nursing program at the school. In 1907, she became involved in an experimental program at the new Teachers College at Columbia University. Ascending to the role of chair of the nursing and health department, Nutting authored a vanguard curriculum based on preparatory nursing education, public health studies, and social service emphasis. She served as president of a variety of councils and committees that served to standardize nursing education and ease the process of meshing nurse-profession interest with state legislation. Nutting was also the author of a multitude of scholarly works relating to the nursing field, and her work, A History of Nursing, remains an essential historic writing today. She is remembered for her legacy as a pioneer in the field of nursing, but also her activist role in a time when women still had limited rights.

Early life In November 1858, Mary Adelaide Nutting was born to Vespasian and Harriet Sophia Nutting at a hospital in Frost Village, District of East Canada (present-day Quebec). Her parents were of English descent. Her ancestors seem to have been Loyalists who emigrated to Canada from the US. This was a common trend for many people who remained loyal to the English crown during the American Revolutionary War, and subsequent to the US victory fled the country to seek refuge in the British colony of Quebec. One of six children, she was particularly close to her only sister, who shared similar interest in the arts and music. At a young age, Nutting's family moved to Waterloo, and this is where she spent a better part of her childhood.

Education Despite coming from meager economic means, all the children received an education at the local village academy. Nutting's father was a court clerk whose income made it difficult to make ends meet. However, he thought that it was essential that his children get the chance to attend school. A gifted student, passionate about her studies, Nutting studied at the Bute House School in Montreal, and spent a brief period at a convent school in St. Johns Newfoundland. In 1881, Nutting, along with her mother and her siblings, took up residence in Ottawa, where she became involved in the fields of music and design. Having found her first real niche, she spent a brief time studying the arts in Lowell, Massachusetts, and continued this education back in Ottawa. Nutting's sister was the principal at the Cathedral School for Girls, and this opened the door for Nutting's first real experience with teaching, as she spent a year instructing piano and music education. She is remembered as a very independent woman, and made the personal decision early on to not marry to prevent any hindrance of her career aspirations.

Affiliation with Johns Hopkins University Nutting had an early interest in the arts, but, largely influenced by her admiration for Florence Nightingale, the British war-time nurse and patron of the modern nursing field, she developed a budding interest in nursing. This was compounded by the fact that Nutting underwent the painful experience of watching her mother slowly die at the hands of "incompetent" health care. In 1893, Nutting was promoted to assistant superintendent, and served under her close acquaintance Isabel Hampton. When Hampton made the decision to resign just a year later, Nutting assumed the role as superintendent and principal of the nursing school, which entailed both administrative and hospital service leadership.

Advances in nursing education at Johns Hopkins In her newfound position of authority, Nutting saw an opportunity to make changes to the program at Johns Hopkins University and breakthroughs in the development of nursing curricula throughout the country. As one account says of her succession to superintendent: "Thus began her lifelong crusade to bring education of nurses within universities." Initially, she commuted between Baltimore and New York City, teaching part-time at both universities. In 1907, after enjoying great success at her position at Columbia, Nutting took on a full-time position as a professor in institutional management. This was a historical achievement, as she was the first nurse to ever assume a chair position at a university.

Death and legacy Nutting is warmly remembered as independent, motivated, and passionate by those who knew her best. She died of pneumonia in October 1948, in White Plains, New York, quite close to her 90th birthday. She had a traditional Anglican ceremony, and her ashes were buried at sea. Nutting was involved in a variety of women's suffrage movements and programs, and was also a staunch advocate for making education and medical care more accessible to all people. She was a pioneer of education, hospital administration, and other fields. In 1944, Nutting was awarded a medal in her name, presented by the National League of Nursing. The "Mary Adelaide Nutting Award" is given once a year, to a recipient who was shown devotion and furthered the development of nursing education.