Marie Elizabeth Carnegie, Essay Example

“Because of the path you tread we are constantly reminded of the true meaning of being our brother and sister’s keepers. We now know what you have always known that if we commit to loving each other as we love ourselves we will succeed” (Carnegie 34). These are the words Mary Elizabeth sought to deliver to the public. These are the words that reflect the true essence of a well-known and widely recognized nurse Marie Elizabeth Carnegie, whom we, at this meeting, are to discuss and commemorate.

Dear Guests,

A year and a half have passed since we lost one of the dearest, the most professional, and the most caring professionals in the history of the American nursing. Our current obligation is to preserve the memory about the nurse, who is international celebrated, respected, and recognized. As a part of our striving to promote the role and importance of nursing we are also expected to understand and disseminate information about the major nursing achievements, which would have been impossible without active participation and due professionalism of Marie Elizabeth Carnegie. A black woman, a black activist, and a true leader, Mrs. Marie Elizabeth Carnegie will forever remain the dominant figure of professional nursing development in America.

Certainly, understanding the meaning and significance of Carnegie’s achievements is impossible without taking a detailed insight into her biography. The nursing path, which Mrs. Carnegie chose to take in her life, was more accidental than intentional, but even throughout her career she was able to prove that excellence, loyalty, and commitment to profession and people are the critical components of anyone’s professional success. Mary Elizabeth Carnegie was born in 1916; the third daughter of her parents, she, soon after her parents were divorced, had to leave her mother and to reside with her Aunt Rosie in Washington, D.C. (Anonymous 187). Since the very beginning of her immaturely adult life, she was not willing to be a burden to her family members, and had to find a job in a nearest Allies Inn cafeteria, which had been built exclusively for whites (Anonymous 187).

Never in her life did Marie imagine herself to be a nurse, and it was her cousin’s idea that she applied to Lincoln School for Nurses for Blacks (Anonymous 187). Even when admitted to the school, she was not confident whether the path she had chosen was correct. At the same time, there could be nothing worse than to work in a terrible Whites-only café. Even to be a nurse seemed to be a better choice compared to washing the dishes and working at steam table at Allies Inn (Anonymous 187). As such, for the first time in her independent life, she left her family to become a resident of New York.

Lincoln School for Nurses gave Marie a chance to realize herself and her strivings through nursing. She was finally able to realize the scope and the seriousness of the then racial issues. In commemoration of Marie Elizabeth Carnegie, we cannot but recognize the contribution she was able to make in the development of black nursing in America. She became the first black nurse in Florida Nurses Association (Anonymous 187). She was able to persuade others to hear her opinions. She was striving to break down the barriers of segregation, which other nurses faced on their way to become professionals. She could not tolerate the situation, in which black nurses were placed when leaving the school and entering their professional life. Since the very first days at school and throughout the process of her professional growth, Marie Elizabeth Carnegie was one of the few to exhibit courage and integrity, her true commitment to equality and advancement in nursing (ANA). As a full member of Florida Nurses Association, she also deemed necessary to use her position and authority for the benefit of other black nurses, who experienced discrimination on the basis of their race.

I would like to attract your attention to the fact that when still at school, Marie Elizabeth Carnegie learnt about and did not hesitate to participate in the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (Anonymous 188). The latter also helped the young nurse to explore the truth about racial issues in nursing and to take the most difficult and actually critical decision – that “when I graduated, I would do all within my power to help change the system and break down the barriers that were keeping Black nurses out of the mainstream of professional nursing” (Anonymous 188).

Mary Elizabeth was very persistent and reasonable in her studies and career. In 1942, she graduated from West Virginia State College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology (Anonymous 188). This knowledge laid the foundation for the subsequent exploration and analysis of the major needs of the black nursing community. Working at Saint Philip, she, as a nurse with graduate degree, was not shown the same degree of respect and recognition as her white colleagues with or without a graduate degree. While white nurses deserved being addressed as “Mrs” or “Mr”, she did not hear anything but “Nurse”, which placed her at the lowest level of the career ladder in the hospital (Anonymous 188). In such morally difficult atmosphere, Mary Elizabeth never betrayed her promise to vote for and promote the rights of black nurses. She realized the role of higher education. She initiated the first baccalaureate for nurses in Virginia Hampton University – the educational facility that had been historically black (Anonymous 189). She was later accepted to join A&M Florida University, where she also initiated a baccalaureate for nurses. At Florida, Carnegie was admitted to the Florida State Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, without any right to vote or to speak. Again, racism became a painful reflection of her inferior position. That she was able to overcome those prejudices, to become the first member of the Board of Directors and to earn Master’s degree in Administration and to continue her career showed her talents and true persistence in everything she wanted to accomplish. The was the first black editor of The American Journal of Nursing, and later became the Chief Editor of Nursing Research (Anonymous 189).

I must note that in her professional development, Marie Elizabeth Carnegie never lost the grip of her skills and opportunities. Whenever possible and impossible, she sought to prove that Black nurses deserved to have broad employment opportunities. Carnegie initiated fellowship programs for graduate nurses, and even in 2008, in 34 years after the first program was implemented, the whole of 34 minority nurses were able to earn their doctoral degree (Anonymous 189). The achievements and accomplishments of Mary Elizabeth Carnegie are still with us, through improved quality of education, improved attitudes to minority nurses, and improved conditions of work. At this meeting we, as her followers, should be grateful and respectful to everything Marie Elizabeth Carnegie was able to achieve during her long and very productive life.

Works Cited

ANA. “Mary Elizabeth Carnegie (1916-2008).” American Nurses Association. 16 October 2009. http://www.nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/AboutANA/WhereWeComeFrom_1/HallofFame/20002004Inductees/carnegie5520.aspx

Anonymous. “The Path She Tread: Saluting the Lifetime Achievements of Mary Elizabeth Lancaster Carnegie, DPA, RN, FAAN.” Nursing History Review, vol. 17 (2009): pp. 185-190.

Carnegie, M.E. The Path We Tread. Garland Publishing, 1985.