This Week in Texas Methodist History  July 23

Barbara Bowman of McAllen Named Miss Methodist Student Nurse of 1957

In 1957 Barbra Bowman of McAllen was named Miss Methodist Student Nurse.  She was a senior and president of the nursing students at Houston Methodist Hospital.  She was chosen from student nurses at the 53 Methodist hospitals in the United States that had schools of nursing.  Criteria included being a senior in the upper 1/3 of her class, professional skills, appearance, and personality.  Each contestant was required to submit a 200-word answer to the question, "Why I chose the nursing profession?"

Bowman's answer was If I can live up to the great traditions of nursing, I will achieve the inner peace necessary for happiness.  Nursing makes possible the fulfillment of my dream for service.  and more, it is making a better person of me.  

Her prize was a trip to Chicago where she would be honored at a luncheon during the annual meeting of the National Association of Methodist Hospital and Homes.  

Perhaps you are surprised at the large number of Methodist hospitals that had schools of nursing, since nursing education has generally migrated to universities and colleges that often partner with hospitals for the clinical side of education.  Actually, nursing education had been a major part of Methodist hospital since the late 19th century.  There were two main events that made that possible.  The first was the professionalization of the nursing profession in the immediate post-Civil War era.  The other development was the creation of the office of Deaconess in both the MEC (1888 and the MECS (1902).   

The MEC led the way, most notably in Cincinnati which had long been the center of German Methodism in the United States.  The MEC built hospitals designed not only to treat patients but also to train women for the healing professions---not just nursing.  One Texas young woman, Bertha Ott, went to Cincinnati and became a pharmacist rather than a nurse.  

During World War I the nursing duties were often performed through the Red Cross, but the demand for nurses in World War II was so much greater, that the incorporation of nurses into the military was necessary.  Methodist hospitals, including Houston Methodist, stepped up their efforts in World War II, and a large proportion of their graduates went to work for one of the armed services.  

As the recent pandemic has put nurses back in the spotlight, we wish to acknowledge our debt to their service and our Methodist history of helping in their professional education.