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Mary E. P. Davis

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Mary E. P. Davis
Born1840 (1840)
DiedJune 9, 1924(1924-06-09) (aged 83–84)

Mary E. P. Davis (1840–1924) was a British North America-born American nursing instructor and a founder of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN).

Biography

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Davis, along with Sophia French Palmer, created the AJN in 1899, with the first issue going out in October 1900.[1] In order to create the journal, Davis reached out to 5,000 different people to subscribe and eventually started with 550 paid subscriptions.[2] She also raised money for the journal and covered the mailing costs herself.[2] She served as the AJN's business manager from 1900 to 1909.[3]

Palmer and Davis also helped create the American Nursing Association.[4] Davis was one of the founders of the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses which later became the National League for Nursing.[5] She also served as the president of the Massachusetts State Nurses' Association.[6]

In 1890, as Superintendent at the Training School for Nurses at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania,[2] Davis extended the course from two to three years. The change remained effective until the school closed in 1878.[7] Davis was appointed Superintendent of Nurses at the Boston Hospital for the Insane in 1901.[8] Davis was a graduate of the Massachusetts General Hospital Training School,[9] and a former student of Linda Richards.[10] Her last position before she officially retired was as the Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts State Nurses' Association.[11]

The Palmer-Davis Nursing Library at Massachusetts General Hospital was named after Palmer and Davis.[4] The library was merged administratively with Treadwell Library in 1981 when the diploma school of nursing closed.[12]

In 1982, she was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Baer, Ellen (1 January 2007). "Requiem for AJN's Place in the Profession". Nursing History Review. 15: 1–3. doi:10.1891/1062-8061.15.1. S2CID 143767779.(registration required)
  2. ^ a b c Lewenson, Sandra Beth (1993). Taking Charge: Nursing, Suffrage and Feminism in America, 1873-1920. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 0824068971.
  3. ^ "Mary E.P. Davis (1840–1924) 1982 Inductee". American Nurses Association. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b Kaufman, Polly Welts; Gibran, Jean; McDowell, Sylvia; Smoyer, Mary Howland (2011). Boston Women's Heritage Trail: Seven Self-Guided Tours Through Four Centuries of Women's History. Boston Women's Heritage Trail. p. 38. ISBN 9781933212401.
  5. ^ a b "Mary E.P. Davis (1840-1924) 1982 Inductee". American Nurses Association. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Back Matter". The American Journal of Nursing. 12 (2): 167. November 1911. JSTOR 3404329.
  7. ^ "History". Penn Nursing. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  8. ^ Richards, Linda (January 1901). "Hospital and Training-School Items". The American Journal of Nursing. 1 (4): 291. doi:10.1097/00000446-190107000-00013. JSTOR 3402151.
  9. ^ "Boston Nurses Resent Widespread Reproach, Aroused by Toppan Tragedy, Against Their Noble Profession". Boston Post. 17 November 1901. Retrieved 1 September 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Doona, Mary Ellen; Hawkins, Joellen W.; Van Ryzin, Ursula; Friedman, Alice H.; Higgins, Loretta P. (1995). "Nursing in Massachusetts During the Roaring Twenties" (PDF). Historical Journal of Massachusetts. 23 (2): 136.
  11. ^ Davis, Mary E. P. (July 1924). "Editorials". The American Journal of Nursing. 24 (10): 811–814. doi:10.2307/3406550. JSTOR 3406550.
  12. ^ "History of Treadwell Library". www.library.massgeneral.org. Retrieved 23 July 2019.