The school of nursing operated by Madison General Hospital opened its doors to six students in 1902 and graduated its first class in 1904. However, evidence of a nursing school stretches back to 1899, the second year of MGH's existence, when financial records of the hospital list two “pupil nurses” who were paid $8.00 and $4.00 per month, although they were offered no formal nursing instruction. The original name of the school was the Madison General Hospital Training School for Nurses, and the curriculum concentrated solely on practical experience rather than theory.
Students were in 1902 to be “women of a high degree of ability, education, and refinement to serve the patients and physicians of Madison General Hospital,” and strict rules and regulations for students in the school were established. After a preparatory period the student began clinical training in the hospital. Student nurses were paid $8.00 a month.
In 1905 a committee of women was established to examine the curriculum. This group decided that a three year program of instruction would be more appropriate for the school. This was finally implemented in 1912, and it resulted in the establishment of formal classroom and laboratory facilities for theoretical instruction. In 1921 the first full-time instructor of nursing, Ethel Odegard, was hired. The following year the word “training” was dropped, and the name became Madison General Hospital School of Nursing. Other nursing school directors of the era were Grace Crafts and Ida Collings. After 1926, the nursing school began affiliations with other medical institutions in Milwaukee, Chicago and Madison in order to provide broader clinical experience.
Because of the Depression, the school was forced to close its doors in 1937. Housing conditions of students had become overcrowded, and inadequate teaching facilities also plagued the school. A decline in the number of patients at Madison General also required fewer staff nurses. However, the onset of World War II brought an acute need for qualified nursing personnel. With funds provided by the McConnell estate, the City of Madison, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Madison General Hospital was able to construct a nurses' residence and classroom known as McConnell Hall. At the request of the State Board of Health and the medical staff of MGH, the school reopened in September, 1943 and operated a three year diploma program as a member of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps until October, 1945.
In 1945 admission requirements were raised to match those of the University of Wisconsin, and students took several required science courses at the University. In 1954 the nursing school was separated from the nursing service department of MGH and labeled the nursing education department. A modification in the curriculum in 1963 required first year students to obtain a strong liberal arts foundation at the institution of their choice and then to attend the Madison General Hospital School of Nursing for two years of clinical experience. In 1969 the school received a $250,000 grant from HEW to build an addition to McConnell Hall.
Due to declining enrollment, competition from four year nursing degree programs, the high costs of nursing education, and decreasing federal funds, the Board of Directors voted to close the school. The school officially closed after graduation in 1982, having graduated over 2400 nurses during its 80-year history. Madison General Hospital continued its ties to nursing education with a four year nursing program offered through Edgewood College.
