About Us

The overall mission of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing is to thoughtfully analyze the past in order to create and foster new ideas for the future while simultaneously promoting Penn Nursing’s vision to advance nursing knowledge and produce leaders that will transform healthcare globally. 

Student nurse, Jewish Hospital Training School for Nurses, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, 1910 The Barbara Bates Center is committed to providing the broadest and highest quality scholarship and educational programs and is equally committed to disseminating research findings through publications and interdisciplinary sharing and collaborations. By these means, the Center dedicates itself to a leadership role in advancing the public’s knowledge of the history of nursing and healthcare.

The goals of the Center are to:

  • Advance knowledge in the history of nursing and healthcare;
  • Engage with scholars whose research aligns with the mission of the Center, the School, the University, and the pressing needs of healthcare systems in our nation and around the globe; and
  • Maximize the visibility, accessibility, and scope of the Center’s historical collections.