Nutting, Mary Adelaide (1858-1948), was a leader in the development of professional nursing in the United States. She helped establish professional standards in nursing education and the practice of nursing. She developed a model training program that supplemented practical experience in a hospital with practical instruction in nursing principles.
Nutting was born on Nov. 1, 1858, in Quebec, Canada. In 1889, she went to Baltimore to enter the first class of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Training School for Nurses. After graduating in 1891, she served as a head nurse at the school. In 1894, she became the school’s principal. Nutting held this position until 1907. That year, she joined the faculty of Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City and became the world’s first professor of nursing. Nutting headed the Department of Nursing and Health at the college from 1910 until she retired in 1925. She died on Oct. 3, 1948.
