VCU School of Nursing

Virginia Commonwealth University
School of Nursing

Type	Public university
Dean	Jean Giddens, Ph.D.[1]
Students	850[2]
Address	1100 E. Leigh Street , Richmond , Virginia , USA
Campus	MCV Campus
Website	http://www.nursing.vcu.edu/

The School of Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University offers academic programs from the baccalaureate to doctoral level. Established in 1893, the School is part of a leading academic health sciences center on the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus. Programs include: Baccalaureate: Traditional B.S., Accelerated B.S., and RN to B.S. (online); Master's - Family NP, Adult-gerontology Primary Care NP, Adult-gerontology Acute Care NP, Psychiatric and Mental Health NP, and Nursing Administration and Leadership (online); Post-master's Certificates; and Doctoral (both online) - Ph.D. and DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice).

History

The VCU School of Nursing was founded as the Virginia Hospital Training School for Nurses in the fall of 1893.^[3]

Sadie Heath Cabaniss

Although Miss

Admissions

The students admitted to the MCV schools of nursing came from all walks of life and from many states. It was not unusual for widows to study nursing in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many students had been school teachers prior to entering nursing. The majority of the girls came from middle class or poor families. For some of these young women nursing was the only education their families could afford.

The requirements for admission to the MCV schools were similar to other schools of nursing young women between the ages of 21 and 35 were admitted if they had good character, good background, good general resistance, normal and stable mental and nervous makeup and a wholesome personality. Eight years of prior education was the norm for women who wanted to study nursing in the early 1900s.[5]

Living Quarters

Prior to 1928 when old Cabaniss Hall dormitory was opened, living quarters left much to be desired. The students attending the Virginia Hospital Training School lived on the upper floor of Virginia Hospital, and they called it the "nurses' flats."^[6]

St. Philip Hospital

St. Philip Hospital opened in 1920. During the first quarter of the 20th century when southern law and social practice demanded separate facilities for the races, the Medical College of Virginia established a separate school of nursing for African-American women to provide trained personnel for the St. Philip Hospital. The school, although administered by the MCV School of Nursing, was operated as a separate entity. From its inception, it was on parity with the established white nursing school.^[7]

Both the

and St. Philip faculty taught were used by other programs because of the rich clinical facilities and high educational standards. As early as 1918 MCV offered experiences that were unavailable to these students in their own clinical facilities. The students received full maintenance for providing services to the MCV and St. Philip Hospitals. By 1960 it was necessary to discontinue the affiliation program because of faculty overload. With the advent of integration, it was no longer necessary to support two separate schools of nursing. The St. Philip School of Nursing was discontinued in 1962 and the schools combined.^[8]

Becoming VCU

The year the School of Nursing celebrated its 75th anniversary, in 1968, the General Assembly of Virginia by act of law established

School of Nursing were consolidated.

As a result of the merger, no students were admitted to the RPI division after February 1969; and when the enrolled students completed their program, the

Charting the Years of the VCU School of Nursing

[10]

• Virginia Hospital Training School (1893-1913)
• Old Dominion Hospital Training School (1895-1903)
• Memorial Hospital Training School (1903-1913)
• Virginia City Hospital Training School (1913-1922)
• School of Social Work and Public Health (1917-1943)
• St. Philip School of Nursing (1920-1962)
• College of William and Mary
  (1926-1969)
• Medical College of Virginia
  (1913-1968)
• Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing (1968–Present day)

Rankings

Currently, the School is ranked 14 nationally in NIH funding.^[11]

References

• Mills, Linda (1992). MCV/VCU School of Nursing; A Proud Heritage - 100 Years of Nursing Education.