Nursing

Program History

The history of nursing education at Avila University demonstrates with pride the academic preparation of nurses who contribute to the health care of those in need. This educational vision was made possible through the efforts of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet mission at St. Joseph Hospital and many others at the College of St. Teresa and Avila College (now Avila University) who valued the importance of academic preparation for nursing practice.

The Sisters of St. Joseph established the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in 1900 under the direction of Sister Irmenia Dougherty. This school of nursing became chartered in 1901. The development of the four-year nursing program originated after the close of World War II. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet recognized the need for advanced educational preparation for women in nursing and began to formulate plans for establishing a department of nursing within the college. In August of 1947, Sister Gerard Joseph Brewer and Sister Mary Pachomia Lackey attended several workshops in preparation for one of the first baccalaureate programs to be established in the state of Missouri. The department received its first accreditation from the Missouri State Board of Nursing in 1948.

Prior to September 1960, the college offered three programs in nursing: a three year diploma program, a basic baccalaureate program and a supplementary program for graduate registered professional nurses. In 1958, a decision was made to discontinue the three-year diploma program and to revise the curriculum of the baccalaureate program to enable the student to complete the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree in four academic years. These changes took place in 1960. From 1970 to 1998 the Department of Nursing offered a RN to Baccalaureate degree.

Currently, the School of Nursing continues the tradition of excellence in nursing through its undergraduate curriculum which provides the health care community excellent, well-educated nurses prepared to adapt to the ever evolving health care environment.