Faye glenn abdellah bio

1. Faye Glenn Abdellah Sandy Winter, Mike Bregenzer, and Dianne Grimmett “We cannot wait for the world to change…Those of us with intelligence, purpose, and vision must take the lead and change the world. Let us move forward together! I promise never to rest until my work has been completed!” –Faye Abdellah

2. Where she came from Dr. Abdellah was born in New York in 1919. Her father was of Algerian heritage and her mother of Scottish. She grew up in a family that was committed to service to their country. Her only brother died of pancreatic cancer related to his World War II military Lessing, 2004, p. 4

3. Why she became a nurse She became a nurse because of a startling historical event, the explosion of the Hindenburg. “I could only view the tragedy of the poor scorched victims exiting the dirigible. it was then that I decided that I would never again be powerless to assist when people were in so dire a need. It was at that moment that I thought that I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to become a nurse.” Lessing, 2004, p. 4

4. Nurse, Researcher, Educator She was trained first as a diploma nurse, but went on to earn 3 degrees from Columbia. Advanced degrees in nursing were unavailable at the time so she chose a masters in physiology and a doctorate in education. True to her training, nursing, research, and education were her lifelong passions. Virginia Healthcare Association http://www.vhca.org/consumers/whos-who/2010/ww2.asp

5. Career highlights: positions Dr. Abdellah had an astonishing career, marked by the passion and commitment to public service that had first led her to be a nurse. She joined the U.S. Public Health Service in 1949. She achieved the rank of a two-star rear admiral. She was chosen as the Deputy Surgeon General, the first time that either a woman or a nurse had been appointed to serve in that role. National Women's Hall of Fame http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-results/details/2/1-Abdellah

6. Career highlights: publications In 1960, Abdellah published her foundational theory in Patient-Centered Approaches to Nursing. At the time, Abdellah was already a research consultant with the U.S. Public Health service, so she collaborated with three nurse educators who wrote chapters on applying Abdellah’s theory to diploma, associate, and bachelor’s level degree programs. The main principle of Abdellah’s book was that the patient should be at the center of nursing inquiry and work, not the disease or the physician or the hospital. National Women's Hall of Fame http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-results/details/2/1-Abdellah

7. Career highlights: publications (cont.) Abdellah updated this work over the next two decades in works such as New Directions in Patient-Centered Nursing (Abdellah et al., 1973). She also published highly-regarded works in nursing research, such as Better Patient Care through Nursing Research (Abdellah, F.G. & Levine, E., 1979). One of her most recent books on research was Preparing Nursing Research for the 21 st Century (Abdellah, F.G. & Levine, E., 1994).

8. Retirement? Dr. Abdellah supposedly retired in 1989, but she then founded the graduate school of nursing at the Uniformed Services University. A center there has been named in her honor. She served as its dean until about 2002, when Senator Daniel Inouye rose to pay tribute to her remarkable career in this speech : Dr. Faye Glenn Abdellah honored Capitol Words, http://capitolwords.org/date/2002/05/16/S4488-3_tribute-to-dr-faye-glenn-abdellah/

9. Dr. Faye Glenn Abdellah today Dr. Abdellah finally slowed down enough to take up residence in the Arleigh Burke Pavilion in Manassas, Virginia. She is now 93 years old. Since Dr. Abdellah gave special attention to the improvement of long-term care facilities and the training of geriatric nurse practitioners, we hope her years of service are now rewarded with the excellent care she deserves! Virginia Healthcare Association http://www.vhca.org/consumers/whos-who/2010/ww2.asp

10. Why she still matters Abdellah gave preliminary form to many current nursing concerns: patient-centered care, access to health care, improving health education, providing service to hospice, patients with AIDS, and residents of nursing homes. She contributed both language and concepts to the development of a nursing process , including the then-new idea that nurses should make nursing diagnoses. National Women's Hall of Fame http://www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-results/details/2/1-Abdellah

11. Bibliography Abdellah, F.G., Beland , I.L., Martin, A., & Matheney , R.V. (1960). Patient-centered approaches to nursing. New York, NY: Macmillan. Abdellah, F.G., Beland , I.L., Martin, A., & Matheney , R.V. ( 1973). New directions in patient-centered nursing. New York, NY: Macmillan . Abdellah, F.G . & Levine, E. (1994). Preparing nursing research for the 21 st century. New York, NY: Macmillan. Lessing , M. 2004. Up close and personal: Interview with Rear Admiral Faye Glenn Abdellah. Military Medicine, 169 , (11), 3-11 . National Women’s Hall of Fame. (2011). Faye Glenn Abdellah. Retrieved from http:// www.greatwomen.org/women-of-the-hall/search-the-hall-results/details/2/1-Abdellah Sunlight Foundation. (2006). Tribute to Dr. Faye G. Abdellah. Retrieved from http://capitolwords.org/date/2002/05/16/S4488-3_tribute-to-dr-faye-glenn-abdellah / Virginia Healthcare Association. (2011). Who’s who in Virginia’s long-term care facilities. Retrieved from http:// www.vhca.org/consumers/whos-who/2010/ww2.asp