History of higher education: Educational reform and the emergence of the nursing professorate

At the end of the 19th century and prior to any published nursing theories, a number of visionaries in the field of nursing were engaged in the pursuit of a liberal education for nurses. These special people, rarely considered in contemporary nursing curricula, were responsible for moving nursing education out of hospitals and into universities. This shift was primarily responsible for the development of nursing professors, which never may have developed had nursing education remained under the auspices of hospitals.