ASU Research E-Magazine: Preserving Nursing's History

Many of the famous nurses in American history were social activists. Not only were these women caregivers, they were willing to speak out for the vulnerable. Their stories and others are told at the American Museum of Nursing.

Rojann Alpers is like most museum curators. Ask her to select a single item that is representative of the entire collection, and she would be hard pressed to make a decision.

However, Alpers might choose a grainy black and white photograph of a nurse grasping her diploma. Or perhaps the painting of a traditional nurses capping ceremony would work. Both images portray a young nurse reverently basking in a light shining down approvingly in what Alpers describes as “the light of legacy.”

Alpers is an associate professor and chair of Community-Public Health/Psych-Mental Health Nursing at Arizona State University. She also serves as curator of a historical collection housed in a building once considered a place of hope and healing.

During the early 20th century, people afflicted with tuberculosis flocked to an oasis in the cactus desert near Phoenix. The Oasis in the Desert Tuberculosis Hospital sat atop a picturesque butte surrounded by cactus and mesquite trees. The neighbors included coyotes, roadrunners, and quail.

Today, the building overlooks Tempe Town Lake where people gather for concerts, cast a line for trout, or take sailing lessons. It is less than a mile from the bustling shops and restaurants along Mill Avenue and the crowded pedestrian malls of the ASU main campus.

In 2004, the former hospital still attracts people. However, today’s visitors come to learn about the past, not to seek a cure. The building is home to the American Museum of Nursing. It is part of ASU’s College of Nursing extended campus.

The museum is a showcase for more than 4,000 artifacts representing more than 300 years of nursing history. Many items are displayed in what were once surgical suites.

Alpers has been with ASU since 1996. She says the museum boasts one of the largest and most distinct collections in the country. It is dedicated to all nurses, past, present, and future.

“I absolutely believe that nursing is a calling,” Alpers says. “Those who do it must be called. There is nothing fast or easy about it. Nursing is so compelling because it offers an extraordinary opportunity to help others in need.”

Alpers says the American Museum of Nursing is exceptional because its artifacts represent the entire history of the profession, not just a particular time period, city, or school.

“We are much more than ASU nursing memorabilia. We have artifacts from all over the world including Asia and England,” she says. “Our collection is diverse and continues to grow each day.”

Many artifacts in the current collection were donated by Geraldine Rosato, a retired registered nurse and one of Alpers’ mentors. Rosato began her collection more than 20 years ago. Many other nurses have donated everything from dolls, figurines, photos, and wartime recruiting posters to surgical instruments, nursing bags, wheelchairs, and bedpans.

Alpers says that few people understand the historical and social significance of patient care objects such as bedpans. In the past, the type of bedpan indicated the status and wealth of the patient. The museum has more than 100 bedpans dating back to the early 1800s. Some are made of simple pottery or enamel. Others are elaborately hand-painted porcelain with gold gilding.

On display are nursing uniforms worn by those who served in every American conflict dating back to the Civil War. Visitors can compare the black wool and starched white uniforms of the past to the camouflaged fatigues military nurses wear today.

Alpers says the ability to compare and benchmark nursing’s contributions to health care and society is valuable for current nursing students.

“The museum gives nursing students, practicing nurses, and members of the public a valuable point of reference,” she says. “We can look at where we came from—and envision where we are going”

One grim example on display of days not so long gone is a pediatric iron lung. The huge device weighs more than a ton. Physicians used iron lungs to treat young polio patients during the 1950s. Visitors can step back decades farther and explore a surgical suite equipped as a 1910 operating room.

Naturally, nursing caps have a prominent place at the museum. Nurses wore caps originally to keep hair away from their faces. But the hats also spoke volumes about the wearer. On display are caps with a velvet stripe, some with frills, and some that are almost wing-like. Another looks more like a chef’s hat than anything a nurse would ever wear. Each cap’s style actually denotes a particular nursing school.

“You used to be able to tell exactly where a nurse was educated by looking at the design of her hat,” Alpers says. “The nursing cap is still the most identifiable icon of nursing even though they went out of favor in the mid 1970s. Even now, decades later, think about what a nurse looks like and the cap immediately comes to mind.”

The museum also includes a considerable collection of nursing textbooks that date from the early 19th century. Alpers is very proud to have first editions of many books written by nursing icons, including Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing, Clara Barton’s History of the American Red Cross, and Lillian Wald’s House on Henry Street.

In addition to an extensive library, the museum also boasts a detailed archive. Visitors have access to a variety of rare documents, journals, and texts dating back to the 1800s.

Nursing books hold a special place in Alpers’ heart. She vividly remembers receiving an anthology of nursing icons while in the seventh grade.

“As I read about Clara Barton, Mary Breckenridge, and others, I realized these nurses were so beloved because they made a real difference in the world. They each made long-lasting and far-reaching contributions,” Alpers says. “I said to myself, ‘that’s what I want.’ I haven’t veered from that path since.”

The ASU professor delights in taking her nursing students through the museum. “It’s important for my students to understand that nurses have historically been more than caretakers. They were social activists. They were willing to speak out for the vulnerable,” she says.

Alpers hopes that the wise words of nursing’s icons will inspire the next generation of nurses in the same way they encouraged her.

“I like to talk with my students about historical figures. I ask, ‘What can we learn from them and apply to today’s nursing practices?’” she says. “It’s so important to learn from the past.”

Working as museum curator is a dream job for Alpers. “Being around these incredible artifacts every day reminds me of how lucky I am,” she says. “I start and end every day saying thank you for being a nurse.”—Ina Zajac