College of Nursing hosts historical exhibit

The exhibit features 10 display panels highlighting the progression of nursing starting in 1909, the year of the Nurse Practicing Act of 1909, which legally recognized qualified nursing school graduates as registered nurses in Washington State. The panels tell the story of how economics, war, epidemics, and the choices made by nurses themselves have shaped professional nursing in Washington State in the last century.

In addition, the College of Nursing has chosen to showcase student nursing uniforms dating from 1920 to the present.

The display was previously housed in Tacoma at the Washington State History Museum. It is being shown at the Riverpoint Campus thanks to the efforts of Bob Pringle and a team of nurses and staff at WSU Spokane, who worked hard to get it here. Support from Sacred Heart and Deaconess funded the transportation to Spokane.

The exhibit was originally developed by Washington State History Museum in partnership with the Washington State Nursing Centennial Consortium.