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Latter-day Saints Hospital (SLC, UT) Alumni records

Nursing Facilities in the Smith Family Living Center

Nursing Facilities in the Smith Family Living Center

Nursing has been called one of the noblest professions.  A School of Nursing was established at Brigham Young University in the fall of 1952 and it eventually developed into the College of Nursing in 1958.  It shares a common history with the School of Nursing at the University of Utah.  Both programs derive from the Dr. W. H. Groves Latter-day Saints Hospital School of Nursing.

The Dr. W. H. Groves Latter-day Saints Hospital School of Nursing was established in 1905. The students were housed in the hospital at first, but this arrangement was entirely unsatisfactory. A nurses home was planned and constructed in 1906. Students living in the nurses home received board and room, laundry and $5.00 per month. The classroom was in the basement of the home and was the heart of the School of Nursing. It was here that aspiring nurses spent hours practicing the many procedures that they needed to learn in order to be effective nurses. The School of Nursing experienced steady growth from its foundation. World War II had an immediate and strong impact on the School of Nursing as the demand for more and better trained nurses grew. Nurses were encouraged to join the military and many did. Some of the senior students were also assigned to military hospitals as well. This meant that students in the School of Nursing gained a lot of practical experience as they were pressed into duty at the Latter-day Saints Hospital as caregivers.

In the early 1950s, the School of Nursing changed considerably. More and more classes were being taught at the University of Utah, and buses would transport the students to the University. The medical field was becoming a very different place at this time and nursing was moving in a more professional direction. Both Brigham Young University and the University of Utah were beginning to offer professional nursing programs, using the hospitals as teaching facilities, but structuring courses so that students could earn a bachelors degree at the conclusion of their nursing training. The Dr. W. H. Groves Latter-day Saints Hospital School of Nursing ended its program in 1955. Students would now have their academic education at Brigham Young University and their clinical experience at the Latter-day Saints Hospital.

Nursing instruction at BYU

Nursing instruction at BYU

The Brigham Young University Archives is home to the records the W. H. Groves Latter-day Saints Hospital School of Nursing records.  These records provide a marvelous glimpse into the history of nursing education in Utah.  The collection call number is UA 1020 and the finding aid can be viewed by clicking here.

If you would like to know more about this collection or the College of Nursing, please contact the University Archivist at gordon_daines@byu.edu or (801) 422-5821.

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