Faye Glenn Abdellah (March 13, 1919 – February 24, 2017) was an American pioneer in

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

research. Abdellah was the first nurse and woman to serve as the Deputy Surgeon General of the United States. Preceding her appointment, she served in active duty during the Korean War, where she earned a distinguished ranking equivalent to a Navy Rear Admiral, making her the highest ranked woman and nurse in the Federal Nursing Services at the time. In addition to these achievements, Abdellah led the formation of the National Institute of Nursing Research at the NIH, and was the founder and first dean of the Graduate School of Nursing at the

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as ...

(USUHS). A few of Abdellah's more passionate interests in public health included the importance of long-term care planning for elderly patients; the need to strengthen nursing school infrastructure; and the necessity of patient-centered approaches in nursing. In 2000 Abdellah was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. During her acceptance speech, Abdellah made the following quote: "We cannot wait for the world to change . . . Those of us with intelligence, purpose, and vision must take the lead and change the world . . . I promise never to rest until my work has been completed!” Abdellah donated a collection of her papers to the National Library of Medicine in November 1988. Abdellah died on February 24, 2017 at the age of 97.

Education

* PhD in education psychology, Masters of Arts, and Bachelors of Science degrees from the Teachers’ College at Columbia University in New York, NY * Liberal arts and chemistry specializations at Douglass Residential College, a division of

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, in New Brunswick, NJ * RN diploma from Fitkin Memorial Hospital (later name
Ann May School of Nursing
in Neptune, NJ

Career

Abdellah was a professor of nursing arts, pharmacology, and medical nursing at the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

School of Nursing from 1945 until 1949. From 1950 until 1954 she served in active duty during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, where she earned a distinguished ranking equivalent to a Navy Rear Admiral, making her the highest ranked woman and nurse in the Federal Nursing Services at the time. Following the war, she served as a visiting professor at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

; the

University of Colorado, Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado s ...

; and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. In 1981, she was appointed deputy to Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, making her the first nurse and woman to serve as Deputy Surgeon General of the United States. As Deputy Surgeon General, she frequently served as an alternate ex-officio member of the Board of Regents at the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), and contributed to policies that shaped NLM programs, services, an
NLM's Long-Range Plan for 1986-2006
She served as Deputy Surgeon General until her retirement in 1989. Following her retirement, Abdellah taught as a professor at the College of Nursing at the University of South Carolina; and established and served as the acting dean of the first federal graduate school of nursing at the

(USUHS).

Perspectives on nursing education

Abdellah was passionate in the effort to improve nursing education. Early in her career, while working for Yale University, she became frustrated by the lack of scientific basis in the National League of Nursing guidelines, and proceeded to burn a stack of the curriculum guides in the Yale courtyard. She mentioned with some humor that it took well over a year for her to pay for the destroyed books. Throughout her career, Abdellah advocated for the strengthening of nursing school infrastructure. Specifically, she called for cross-disciplinary collaborations in nursing education; the teaching of specialized and budgeting skills in nursing graduate education; increased admittance of nursing students from minority backgrounds; and fostering humanistic skills in future nurses, such as compassion for patients. She was also a proponent of the teaching the teacher method, where graduate students are taught specialized skills so that they may teach the skills to future students. Abdellah created a typology of twenty-one areas of focus for the nurse. These problems were divided into three classes: physical, sociological and emotional needs of the patient; the types of nurse-patient interpersonal relationships; and common elements of patient care.

Select awards and achievements

* 2012: Inductee, American Nurses Association Hall of Fame * 2000: Inductee,

National Women's Hall of Fame The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution incorporated in 1969 by a group of men and women in Seneca Falls, New York, although it did not induct its first enshrinees until 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees. Induc ...

* 1994: Living Legend,

American Academy of Nursing The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is a professional organization that generates, synthesizes, and disseminates nursing knowledge to contribute to health policy and practice for the benefit of the public and the nursing profession. Founded in ...

* 11 honorary degrees * 152 publications * Over 50 academic awards and recognitions

References

External links

Faye Glenn Abdellah Papers (1952-1989)
– National Library of Medicine finding aid
Faye Glenn Abdellah
at the National Women's Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdellah, Faye Glenn 1919 births 2017 deaths American women civil servants American women nurses American nursing administrators Teachers College, Columbia University alumni United States Public Health Service personnel 21st-century American women Members of the National Academy of Medicine