VCU Libraries Gallery

1930

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MCV Nursing Class of 1930.

1931 Nursing Program Initiated at Hampton
Nina Gage directed the amalgamation of the Hampton Training School of Nurses at Dixie Hospital with Hampton Institute and attempted to establish the first baccalaureate nursing education program in Virginia. No evidence of any graduates with B.S. degrees has been located to date.

1932 High School Graduation Required
The Board of Examiners of Nurses set high school graduation as a requirement for admission to all schools of nursing in Virginia.

1932 First Executive Secretary of the GNAV Appointed
Jessie Wetzel Faris was appointed part-time Executive Secretary of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (GNAV) with an office in her home on Church Hill in Richmond.

1933 The First Official Publication of GNAV Issued
The Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (GNAV) first published "Bits of News" in January 1933.

1935  Nurse Anesthetists Organize
The Virginia Association of Nurse Anesthetists (VANA) was organized in 1935.  VANA was the eighth state association to become a constituent of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

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Winchester Memorial Hospital Class of 1930

1936 Legislative Challenge to the Nurse Practice Act
Dr. Julian Woodson, State Senator from Amherst and Nelson Counties, introduced legislation to abolish the Board of Nurse Examiners as it existed and to create a six member board comprised of three registered nurses and three registered physicians. Nurses united to oppose the bill and it was defeated by the General Assembly.

1937 Virginia League of Nursing Education Reorganized
The Education Section of Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (GNAV) voted to become the Virginia League of Nursing Education in November 1937. This organization was accepted as a constituent of the National League of Nursing Education in May 1938.

1937 Old Dominion Graduate Nurses Association Establishes Scholarship Loan
In 1937, the Old Dominion Graduate Nurses Association established a scholarship for registered nurses to continue their nursing education.