History of higher education: Educational reform and the emergence of the nursing professorate

At the end of the 19th century and prior to any published nursing theories, a number of visionaries in the field of nursing were engaged in the pursui t of a liberal education for nurses. These special people, rarely considere d in contemporary nursing curricula, were responsible for moving nursing ed ucation out of hospitals and into universities. This shift was primarily re sponsible for the development of nursing professors, which never may have d eveloped had nursing education remained under the auspices of hospitals.