SOAR Project: MaKenzee Stone, History Education/Social Science
鈥淭he Cadet Nursing Corps: Solving America鈥檚 Nursing Shortage at the Outbreak of WWII鈥�
MaKenzee Stone, Blaine, MN
History Education/Social Science Education
Mentor: Dr. Steven King
Shortly after World War II broke out, the United States was left with a nursing shortage. In response to this crisis, a woman by the name of Frances P. Bolton, a representative from Ohio, came up with a solution to help solve the lack of nurses here and overseas. She introduced the Nurse Training聽Act in March of 1943. This bill would speed up the education of nurses. Hospitals across the country responded to the call to train nurses. This was true in North Dakota and Barnes County. There were聽a few significant incentives for women to join the Cadet Nursing Corps. Women who joined would聽get their tuition paid for, free room and board, a monthly payment, and free uniforms. The women,聽after graduation, agreed to serve in a military聽hospital at home or abroad. Today, there are very few women alive from the Cadet Nurse Corps. Their full contribution to the war effort has not been adequately told.