Edith Dee Hall: Army nurse, AORN founder, and visionary perioperative nursing leader

The Army Nurse Corps boasts a distinguished legacy of selfless service to American Warfighters, with its members consistently demonstrating exceptional dedication and leadership to national nursing organizations. This biography chronicles the remarkable life of Edith Dee Hall (1897-1971), a trailblazing Army Nurse Corps Officer and the visionary founder of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN). Shaped by the urgent demands of World War I and the influenza pandemic, Hall trained at the novel Army School of Nursing. Her subsequent career highlighted the critical need for a formal organization to unite operating room nurses and elevate patient care. Hall’s instrumental leadership in AORN’s establishment and early growth profoundly transformed perioperative nursing, establishing national standards for competence and ensuring “Better and Safer Care for the Patient in the Operating Room.” INTRODUCTION The Army Nurse Corps (ANC) boasts a distinguished legacy of selfless service to American Warfighters, with its members consistently demonstrating exceptional ded- ication and leadership to national nursing organizations. Notably, Edith Dee Hall (1897-1971), a former Army Nurse, became one of history’s most influential and transformative national nursing leaders. Her exceptional contributions profoundly shaped both perioperative care and military nursing, leaving an indelible mark on healthcare practices and standards. Edith Dee Hall founded the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN), later renamed to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), which stands today as one of the largest specialty nursing organizations in the world.1 EARLY LIFE AND PATH TO NURSING Born in Kimball, Nebraska, on February 2, 1897, Edith Dee Hall graduated from Kimball County High School in 1915. She attended the University of Nebraska from 1916 until the middle of her sophomore year (1916-1917). 2 The urgent need for healthcare professionals during World War I and the dev- astating influenza pandemic strongly influenced her decision to pursue nursing. THE ARMY SCHOOL OF NURSING On October 13, 1918, Hall gained admission to the Army School of Nursing (See Figure 1). Facing a critical need for trained nurses in military hospitals during World War I, the Secretary of War established the Army School of Nursing in 1918. 3 The school offered a critical and novel approach to nursing education, providing a national, standardized curriculum and directly training students in military hos- pitals, including a school at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington D.C.4 This innovative approach provided a Fig 1. Edith Dee Hall (1897-1971) at the Army School of Nursing.