Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Records of the Virginia Board of Nursing, 1903-1984 (bulk 1903-1970). Accession 43495, State records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

Transferred by Maureen Spokes, Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry, University of Virginia School of Nursing, McLeod Hall, P.O. Box 800782, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, 19 October 2007.

Custodial History

The provenance of this collection is not entirely clear. Before arriving at the Library of Virginia, the collection was housed at the Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. From whom the papers were initially received remains unknown.

Biographical/Historical Information

The Virginia General Assembly created the State Board of Examiners of Graduate Nurses with the enactment of the Nurse Practice Act in 1903. The purpose of the regulation of nursing by the state was to protect the health and welfare of Virginia's citizenry. The act provided a way to regulate the nursing profession, as well as provide a means to inspect Virginia's many nurse training schools. The Board was responsible for administering the certification examination, first held in Richmond in 1904. The first formal criteria used during school inspections was developed in 1905. A certification process for licensed attendants was added in 1918. Certified tuberculosis nurses were regulated beginning in 1926, and an amendment to the Nurse Practice Act established the regulation of licensed practical nurses in 1946. The categories of clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse aide, and massage therapist were added in later years.

The board has been subject to several name changes since its inception. It began as the "State Board of Examiners of Graduate Nurses" in 1903, but later became the "State Board of Examiners of Nurses" in 1946. In 1970, the name was changed to the "Virginia State Board of Nursing," and in 1989 it was again changed to the "Virginia Board of Nursing."

Members of the Virginia Board of Nursing are appointed by the Governor to four-year terms. The Board began with five registered nurses, but is now composed of thirteen members. Two important figures featured in this collection are Julia Mellichamp and Ethel Smith, who both served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Board during the first half of the 20th century. Mellichamp was the first to serve in this paid position beginning in 1914 and ending in 1920, while Smith served as Secretary-Treasurer and also as Inspector of Training Schools from 1920 to 1937.

The Board is now part of the Virginia Department of Health Professions. The Department of Health Regulatory Boards was created by an act passed by the General Assembly on March 31, 1977, to provide administrative services to the health regulatory boards of the state. In 1986, the Department of Health Regulatory Boards was renamed the Department of Health Professions.

Scope and Content

Contains correspondence, minutes, reports, law and policy information, and a variety of material associated with nursing organizations on the state and national levels. The bulk of the collection dates before 1970, though there are a few scattered documents from later years. For the most part, the collection is comprised of records from when the Board was known as the State Board of Examiners of Graduate Nurses (prior to 1946), and as the Board of Examiners of Nurses (1946-1970). Files of note include those devoted to Ethel Smith, long-time Secretary-Treasurer of the Board, as well as the correspondence of Julia Mellichamp in her capacity as Secretary-Treasurer. Files containing various reports of the Board, meeting minutes, and the annual reports of the nurse training schools provide detailed information on the Board and its activities. This collection provides an early glimpse into the realm of professional nursing in Virginia.