NR-393 – Nursing History & Trends Reviews
nursing evolution, historical developments,
professional milestones, healthcare trends,
and future directions in nursing practice.
Question 1
Florence Nightingale is best known for which major contribution to nursing during
the Crimean War?
A) Establishing the first nursing school in the United States
B) Reducing mortality rates through sanitation and environmental reforms
C) Creating the American Red Cross
D) Developing the first formal nursing practice act
Answer: B – Rationale: Nightingale reduced the mortality rate from 42% to 2%
by improving hygiene, sanitation, and ventilation in Scutari. Her environmental
theory shaped modern nursing.
Question 2
Which nursing leader founded the Henry Street Settlement and established district
nursing in the United States?
A) Clara Barton
B) Lillian Wald
C) Mary Mahoney
D) Dorothea Dix
Answer: B – Rationale: Lillian Wald (1867–1940) founded the Henry Street
Settlement in 1893, providing nursing care to poor immigrants in NYC. She also
coined the term “public health nursing.”
Question 3
,Clara Barton is most remembered for:
A) Founding the American Red Cross in 1881
B) Serving as superintendent of the U.S. Army Nurses
C) Establishing the first nursing school in Japan
D) Writing the first nursing textbook
Answer: A – Rationale: Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881
after serving as a nurse during the Civil War. She also worked to include
peacetime relief services.
Question 4
The first hospital-based nursing school in the United States was established at:
A) Bellevue Hospital, New York (1873)
B) Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
C) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
D) Charity Hospital, New Orleans
Answer: A – *Rationale: The Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing (1873) was the
first Nightingale-model nursing school in the U.S., along with Connecticut
Training School and Boston Training School.*
Question 5
Dorothea Dix is best known for her contributions to:
A) Establishing the Army Nurse Corps
B) Reforming mental health institutions and serving as Superintendent of Army
Nurses
C) Creating the first nurse anesthesia program
D) Founding the National League for Nursing
Answer: B – Rationale: Dorothea Dix advocated for humane treatment of the
mentally ill, leading to establishment of 32 state hospitals. During the Civil War,
she served as Superintendent of Army Nurses.
Question 6
,Mary Eliza Mahoney made history as:
A) The first African American professional nurse in the U.S.
B) The first nurse to earn a PhD
C) The founder of the American Nurses Association
D) The first nurse to serve in the U.S. Senate
Answer: A – *Rationale: Mary Mahoney (1845–1926) graduated from the New
England Hospital for Women and Children in 1879, becoming the first Black
professional nurse. She co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate
Nurses.*
Question 7
The establishment of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901 and the Navy Nurse Corps in
1908:
A) Allowed women to serve as officers without rank
B) Gave military nurses full officer status for the first time
C) Excluded male nurses until 1955
D) Required all nurses to be unmarried
Answer: B – Rationale: The Army Nurse Corps (1901) and Navy Nurse Corps
(1908) granted nurses relative rank. Full officer status came later (1947 for Army,
1942 for Navy). Male nurses were excluded until 1955.
Question 8
The Goldmark Report (1923) recommended:
A) Closing all hospital-based diploma programs
B) Establishing university-based nursing education and increasing funding for
nursing research
C) Reducing the length of nursing training to 1 year
D) Eliminating licensure requirements for nurses
Answer: B – Rationale: The Goldmark Report (also called “Nursing and Nursing
Education in the United States”) recommended university-based schools of
nursing, improved salaries, and funding for research.
, Question 9
Isabel Hampton Robb is credited with:
A) Developing the first grading system for nursing students
B) Founding the American Journal of Nursing
C) Establishing the Nurses’ Associated Alumnae (precursor to ANA)
D) All of the above
Answer: D – Rationale: Isabel Hampton Robb standardized nursing curricula,
helped found the ANA (originally Nurses’ Associated Alumnae), and co-founded
the American Journal of Nursing (AJN).
Question 10
The Brown Report (1948) was significant because it:
A) Called for the closure of all diploma programs
B) Recommended that nursing education be placed in institutions of higher
learning (colleges and universities)
C) Established the first nurse practitioner program
D) Mandated licensure for all nurses
Answer: B – Rationale: Esther Lucile Brown’s report, “Nursing for the Future,”
recommended moving nursing education from hospital diploma programs to
colleges and universities to improve quality.
Question 11
Which historical event led to a severe shortage of nurses and ultimately to the
passage of the Nurse Training Act of 1964?
A) World War I
B) The Great Depression
C) World War II and the post-war expansion of hospitals
D) The Korean War
Answer: C – *Rationale: WWII and the post-war era saw massive hospital
expansion. The Nurse Training Act (1964) provided federal funding for nursing
education to address shortages.*
nursing evolution, historical developments,
professional milestones, healthcare trends,
and future directions in nursing practice.
Question 1
Florence Nightingale is best known for which major contribution to nursing during
the Crimean War?
A) Establishing the first nursing school in the United States
B) Reducing mortality rates through sanitation and environmental reforms
C) Creating the American Red Cross
D) Developing the first formal nursing practice act
Answer: B – Rationale: Nightingale reduced the mortality rate from 42% to 2%
by improving hygiene, sanitation, and ventilation in Scutari. Her environmental
theory shaped modern nursing.
Question 2
Which nursing leader founded the Henry Street Settlement and established district
nursing in the United States?
A) Clara Barton
B) Lillian Wald
C) Mary Mahoney
D) Dorothea Dix
Answer: B – Rationale: Lillian Wald (1867–1940) founded the Henry Street
Settlement in 1893, providing nursing care to poor immigrants in NYC. She also
coined the term “public health nursing.”
Question 3
,Clara Barton is most remembered for:
A) Founding the American Red Cross in 1881
B) Serving as superintendent of the U.S. Army Nurses
C) Establishing the first nursing school in Japan
D) Writing the first nursing textbook
Answer: A – Rationale: Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881
after serving as a nurse during the Civil War. She also worked to include
peacetime relief services.
Question 4
The first hospital-based nursing school in the United States was established at:
A) Bellevue Hospital, New York (1873)
B) Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
C) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
D) Charity Hospital, New Orleans
Answer: A – *Rationale: The Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing (1873) was the
first Nightingale-model nursing school in the U.S., along with Connecticut
Training School and Boston Training School.*
Question 5
Dorothea Dix is best known for her contributions to:
A) Establishing the Army Nurse Corps
B) Reforming mental health institutions and serving as Superintendent of Army
Nurses
C) Creating the first nurse anesthesia program
D) Founding the National League for Nursing
Answer: B – Rationale: Dorothea Dix advocated for humane treatment of the
mentally ill, leading to establishment of 32 state hospitals. During the Civil War,
she served as Superintendent of Army Nurses.
Question 6
,Mary Eliza Mahoney made history as:
A) The first African American professional nurse in the U.S.
B) The first nurse to earn a PhD
C) The founder of the American Nurses Association
D) The first nurse to serve in the U.S. Senate
Answer: A – *Rationale: Mary Mahoney (1845–1926) graduated from the New
England Hospital for Women and Children in 1879, becoming the first Black
professional nurse. She co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate
Nurses.*
Question 7
The establishment of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901 and the Navy Nurse Corps in
1908:
A) Allowed women to serve as officers without rank
B) Gave military nurses full officer status for the first time
C) Excluded male nurses until 1955
D) Required all nurses to be unmarried
Answer: B – Rationale: The Army Nurse Corps (1901) and Navy Nurse Corps
(1908) granted nurses relative rank. Full officer status came later (1947 for Army,
1942 for Navy). Male nurses were excluded until 1955.
Question 8
The Goldmark Report (1923) recommended:
A) Closing all hospital-based diploma programs
B) Establishing university-based nursing education and increasing funding for
nursing research
C) Reducing the length of nursing training to 1 year
D) Eliminating licensure requirements for nurses
Answer: B – Rationale: The Goldmark Report (also called “Nursing and Nursing
Education in the United States”) recommended university-based schools of
nursing, improved salaries, and funding for research.
, Question 9
Isabel Hampton Robb is credited with:
A) Developing the first grading system for nursing students
B) Founding the American Journal of Nursing
C) Establishing the Nurses’ Associated Alumnae (precursor to ANA)
D) All of the above
Answer: D – Rationale: Isabel Hampton Robb standardized nursing curricula,
helped found the ANA (originally Nurses’ Associated Alumnae), and co-founded
the American Journal of Nursing (AJN).
Question 10
The Brown Report (1948) was significant because it:
A) Called for the closure of all diploma programs
B) Recommended that nursing education be placed in institutions of higher
learning (colleges and universities)
C) Established the first nurse practitioner program
D) Mandated licensure for all nurses
Answer: B – Rationale: Esther Lucile Brown’s report, “Nursing for the Future,”
recommended moving nursing education from hospital diploma programs to
colleges and universities to improve quality.
Question 11
Which historical event led to a severe shortage of nurses and ultimately to the
passage of the Nurse Training Act of 1964?
A) World War I
B) The Great Depression
C) World War II and the post-war expansion of hospitals
D) The Korean War
Answer: C – *Rationale: WWII and the post-war era saw massive hospital
expansion. The Nurse Training Act (1964) provided federal funding for nursing
education to address shortages.*
