| Since 1893 nursing leaders have sought to develop and standardize nursing education and to prescribe nursing practice parameters. By defining the essence, scope, and boundaries of nursing, state licensure imposed a particular paradigm, curtailing any nursing program outside the paradigm, and shaping the scope of nursing practice.;In 1936 Agnes Ohlson became the chief examiner of the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing. The research problem was to understand the impact of her professional work related to licensure and registration for nurses, in Connecticut and nationally. Questions guiding the investigation were, how did her professional activities contribute to the development of the profession in Connecticut and nationally, what changes occurred in nursing education, influenced by state boards of nursing, and how did these changes influence practice, and what were her beliefs about regulation of nursing and what strategies did she use to effect changes?;Data sources included archives of the American Nurses' Association, the Connecticut Nurses' Association, the Connecticut League for Nursing, and the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing. Miss Ohlson and a contemporary, Josephine Dolan, were interviewed by the investigator for their eye witness perspectives.;Additional data about initiation of licensure were found in papers originally given at the International Congress of Charities, Correction and Philanthropy held at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Reports of meetings of the American Society of Superintendents for Nursing from 1894 to 1912 and of the National League of Nursing Education thereafter, and published reports of meetings of the Nurses' Associated Alumnae of the United States provided information about organized nursing from 1893 through the 1920s. All data were subjected to external criticism to establish validity and internal criticism to establish reliability.;Agnes Ohlson, a woman of noted leadership achievements, personal power, and political skill, was an ideal person in an ideal position to strengthen and protect the paradigm established by licensure and registration. Challenges to the paradigm began slowly and gradually in the 1960s. One person, one agency, one organization could no longer exercise the influence Miss Ohlson wielded. She retired in 1963 without sacrificing her principles, her paradigm shaken. |
