Community and culture

UCSF School of Nursing Centennial

The first teaching hospital of the University of California opened its doors on April 11, 1907, fifty-one weeks after the great quake.

6.2007

The roots of the UCSF School of Nursing are 100 years deep, growing out of the spirit of renewal that rebuilt San Francisco after the great earthquake of 1906. Now the school, consistently ranked among the best in the nation and No. 1 in grants from the National Institutes of Health, is internationally renowned for research that advances health and for educating the next generation of leaders in nursing practice and policy worldwide.

The School of Nursing will celebrate that century of excellence throughout the 2006-2007 academic year, honoring the accomplishments of alumni and faculty and the leadership of nurses throughout the University.

UCSF Nursing began April 12, 1907. In 51 weeks after the 1906 earthquake, the University of California had converted its still-standing College of Medicine on Parnassus to include a 42-bed hospital on two floors. In addition to providing care for San Franciscans and clinical experience for medical students, this precursor to UCSF Medical Center was home to UC's first nursing education program.

UCSF nurses began earning their diplomas in 1907; the University initiated one of the nation's first nursing bachelor's degree programs in 1917. In 1939, the University of California Regents reorganized the nurse education program to establish the UCSF School of Nursing, the first such autonomous school in any public university. The school was the first in the West to offer a doctoral degree in nursing.