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A SALUTE TO ONE OF OUR OWN
HarrietHelen Werley
12October 1914 to 14 October 2002
Nursing history contains a virtual collage of faces,names and events. From the classiccontributions of nurses such as Florence Nightingale, Lillian Wald and LaviniaDock, to the modern leadership of nursing theorists such as Virginia Henderson,Martha Rogers and Mary Adelaide Nutting, nursing visionaries have continuallybroadened the scope of nursing. HarrietH. Werley, one of the Army Nurse Corps own, joins the ranks of this elite group. Werley served her nation as an Army Nurse Corps officer from 1 August1941 through 31 January 1964. Afterher retirement, she continued her pursuit of the advancement of nursing researchand education within the civilian nursing community. Werley's life-long contribution to the promotion of nursing researchand excellence in clinical and academic nursing deserves tribute.
Born in Berks, Pennsylvania on 12 October 1914 to Thomas G. and CoraWerley, Werley experienced the challenges of growing up during the depression ofthe 1930's. At age 12, Werley's father died. Her family struggled financially, however, she was able to graduate fromhigh school and eventually saved enough money to enter nursing school. Her father's untimely death motivated her to pursue a nursing career. She graduated from the Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing inPhiladelphia in 1940. Commissionedin the Army Nurse Corps in 1941, Werley served with the 7th StationHospital in the Mediterranean theater during World War II. She served overseas for 37 continuous months. As a young nurse corpsofficer in a wartime environment, Werley gained valuable insights that wouldfuel her future endeavors. During abreak in service from 1946 until 1948, Werley completed her Bachelor of Sciencein Nursing Education at the University of California School of Nursing atBerkeley. She returned to activeduty and served as Assistant Chief Nurse and Chief Nurse of the station hospitallocated in Camp Stoneman, California. Answeringan internal need for greater knowledge, Werley completed her Master's degreein Nursing Administration in 1951 at Teacher's College, Columbia University,New York under army sponsorship. Werley'sfuture endeavors would be grounded by this education that she held asinvaluable.
From 1951 to 1955 Werley was a member of the careerguidance and planning section of the Army Nurse Corps, located at the Office ofthe Surgeon General. Werley felt strongly regarding nursing education. During this four-year tour, she was instrumental in guiding the ANC to anall bachelor prepared Corps. It wasalso during this tenure that she developed the ANC Career Planning Program. This program would provide career guidance to Army Nurse Corps officers. Werley had the opportunity to examine the opportunities available toNurse Corps officers. She wasdismayed by the lack of recognizable positions in the field of research. Werley had found her calling. Herfuture work would concentrate on nursing research.
In July 1955, Werley began work in the Department ofAtomic Casualties Studies at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). As a result of her work with this project, Werley identified theimportance of nursing involvement in disaster preparedness training andprograms. She worked on clinicalshort courses and published findings related to the topic of mass casualties anddisaster preparedness. Her involvement with WRAIR activities forced her to examine why nurses were not moreinvolved in studies. She wondered why nurses were not examining their practice as other professions did.
Utilizing a staff study that outlined her ideas for a department of nursing research study,Werley advocated for the entrance of nursing into the Walter Reed Army Instituteof Research (WRAIR). She submitted the study to the director of the Institute of Research and it was approved. OnFebruary 25, 1957, a WRAIR nursing research department with Werley at the helm came into existence. This was onlythe second such entity in the country. Werley served in the capacity of Chief, Department of NursingWRAIR until August 1962. She was instrumental in developing a productive and relevant nursing research program. Her efforts resulted in numerous completions of nursing researchprojects, identification of talented nursing researchers, inclusion of nurses inmedical research and an overall implementation of a scholarly nursing researchprogram.
In September of 1962, Werley completed her military career with a tour asthe chief nurse of the U.S. Eighth Army. She was stationed in Seoul, Korea.At the conclusion of this assignment, Werley decided to leave themilitary and pursue a doctoral program. Werleyretired on 31 January 1964 as a Lieutenant Colonel. She acquired her doctorate in June 1969 at the University of Utah.
Within civilian nursing, Werley's career had numerous milestones.After completing her doctorate, several universities benefited from herpromotion of nursing research. From September 1969 until the early 80's,Werley held various faculty and administrative positions at Wayne StateUniversity College of Nursing, the University of Illinois at Chicago, theUniversity of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.Werley supplied these faculties with enthusiasm, energy and focus inorder to promote nursing research development. During this time, Werley was the founding editor of Research in Nursingand Health and the series, Annual Review of Nursing Research.She also was instrumental as a leader in the nursing informatics arenawith her development of a Nursing Minimum Data Set (NDMS).Werley completed her illustrious academic career as a distinguishedprofessor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Although she formally retired in 1991, Werley continuedmentoring and guiding research programs at the school until 1997.
Werley's nursing career spanned over a 50-year period. Her legacy to the profession of nursing is enormous.The Army Nurse Corps and the profession of nursing recognize, with greathonor, the passing of a nursing icon. Wesalute, Harriet Helen Werley, who died on October 14, 2002, at the age of 88years.
'Nursing is a profession through which one can goin many different directions and have satisfying careers. If what you are doingdoes not suit you completely you do not need to be stuck with it. You can branchout into being a nurse clinician or a nurse practitioner, an educator, anadministrator, a researcher, a consultant, and so on. Nursing provides many,many rich opportunities.'
Historical Data located at the Army Nurse CorpsCollection, United States Army, Office of Medical History, Office of the SurgeonGeneral, Washington D.C.
