Madison General Hospital School of Nursing Oral History Project

Introduction

The Madison General Hospital School of Nursing trained many nurses over its 80 years. Students learned the art of nursing while getting to know the city of Madison and making friends along the way. The alumni of Madison General Hospital School of Nursing have landed across the world in a variety of careers. To document their education and experiences while learning at Madison General Hospital, the Madison General Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Oral History Project 1947-1980 was started in 2019 in order to preserve their stories.

The Nurses

For this project, twenty-one nurses or educators were interviewed. They represent graduating classes as early as 1947 and as late as 1978 and include one faculty member.  Seventeen women and four men were interviewed. The nursing students came to Madison General from around the country, while others were Madison born. They continued their education or moved along to careers in a variety of fields or specialties of nursing across the United States.

The Training

Madison General Hospital School of Nursing was a three-year diploma program. The training began with classes at the University of Wisconsin such as Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology. Next, the students had a blended education of classes taught by Madison General Hospital School of Nursing faculty, hospital physicians and staff as well as clinical rotations there. Students had the opportunity to have clinical rotations at other hospitals in the area, such as Mendota Psychiatric Hospital, the VA Hospital, Milwaukee Children’s Hospital or Cook County Hospital.

Interviews

Below can be found the narrative for each person interviewed for this project.

Click on each link to access the audio, summary and transcript for each oral history. Note: Also included with each narrator’s name is their oral history number, maiden name (if known), and graduating class.

*Oral history interview not publicly available. ** Narrators in class pictures directly above.

Project Summary

This project would not have happened without the administrative support of the Meriter Foundation and consultation from Mary Pautz, MGH Class of 1960. The interviews were conducted by student workers Faith Hoffmeyer and Lea Goldstone, processed by student Sophie Clark. The interviews were transcribed by Teresa Bergen all of which was overseen by Troy Reeves, Head of the Oral History Program at UW Madison. The teams at Digital Library Services & the Shared Development Group, particularly Jesse Henderson, Karen Rattunde, and Steven Dast put these histories online.

Here are two reflections written by Sophie and Faith. Here is a UW Libraries news article on the MGH Nurses Project.

For more information on the history of Madison General Hospital and to access Madison General Hospital Archives visit: https://unitypoint.pastperfectonline.com/