Irene L. Beland (June 21, 1906August 15, 2000) was an American

nursing educator Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and

patient-centered care Patient participation is a trend that arose in answer to medical paternalism. Informed consent is a process where patients make decisions informed by the advice of medical professionals. In recent years, the term ''patient participation'' has be ...

researcher.

Biography

Beland was born on June 21, 1906 in Loda, Illinois. In 1913, her family moved to

Osage, Iowa Osage is a city and the county seat of Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,627 at the time of the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Climate ...

. After high school, she taught at a country school for two years, before enrolling in St. Mary's Hospital School of Nursing in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

. She earned her

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

diploma three years later. Beland was later accepted into the department of physics and biochemistry at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1937 and a master's degree in 1938. Her master's thesis was titled ''The comparative toxicities of the cardiac glucosides in the frog.'' Beland taught medical nursing at the University of Minnesota from 1938 to 1940 and held teaching positions at St. Mary's Hospital School of Nursing and Minneapolis General Hospital from 1940 to 1947. From 1947 until her retirement in 1970, she held a faculty position at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

in Detroit, Michigan. Beland is credited with developing one of the country's first graduate programs for medical-

surgical nursing A surgical nurse, also referred to as a theatre nurse or scrub nurse, specializes in perioperative care, providing care to patients before, during and after surgery. To become a theatre nurse, Registered Nurses or Enrolled Nurses must complete e ...

specialists. In 1965, Macmillan published the first edition of her book, ''Clinical Nursing: Pathophysiological and Psychosocial Approaches''. The book was one of the first to examine nursing from a holistic perspective. Beland would go on to author or co-author three more editions of the text. In 1983, she was named an honorary fellow of the

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 ...

. Beland died on August 15, 2000, in Rochester, Minnesota. Her collection of papers is held at Boston University's

Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery b ...

Selected works

Books

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Articles

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beland, Irene 1906 births 2000 deaths American nursing educators American nurses Academics from Illinois University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni American women nurses Wayne State University faculty 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women academics