During National Minority Health Month, it's essential to reflect on the significant contributions made by nursing pioneer Mary Eliza Mahoney. Born in 1845 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first African American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States.
Mahoney's parents, Charles and Mary Jane (Stewart) Mahoney, were freed, formerly enslaved people from North Carolina who moved north before the American Civil War in pursuit of a life with less racial discrimination. From an early age, Mahoney was a devout Baptist and churchgoer and attended the People's Baptist Church in Roxbury.
Mahoney knew early on that she wanted to become a nurse; possibly due to seeing immediate emergence of nurses during the American Civil War. Even when lacking formal education, early African American nurses played a vital role as healers to their communities.
Overcoming Barriers in Nursing Education
Black women in the 19th century often had a difficult time becoming trained and licensed nurses. Nursing schools in the South rejected applications from African American women, whereas in the North, though the opportunity was still severely limited, African Americans had a greater chance at acceptance into training and graduate programs.
As soon as the New England Hospital for Women and Children was created, she began to show an interest in nursing at age 18. To work towards that goal, Mahoney began working at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. The hospital provided health care only to women and their children. The facility was also noteworthy because it had an all-female staff of physicians. Mahoney worked there for 15 years in several roles. She worked at the hospital as a janitor, a cook and a washer woman.
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Mahoney was admitted into a 16-month program at the (now the Dimock Community Health Center) at the age of 33, alongside 39 other students, in 1878. Mahoney is believed to be one of only three people in her class to complete the challenging 16-month program in 1878. Out of a class of 40 students, she and two other white women were the only ones to receive their degree.
Rigorous Training at the New England Hospital
Mahoney's training required she spend at least one year in the hospital's various wards to gain universal nursing knowledge. The intensive program consisted of long days with a 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM shift, requiring Mahoney to attend lectures and lessons to educate herself through instruction of doctors in the ward. Outside of the lectures, students were taught many important bedside procedures such as taking vital signs and bandaging. In addition, Mahoney worked for several months as a private-duty nurse.
Three quarters of the program consisted of the nurses working within a surgical, maternity or medical ward with six patients they were responsible for. The last two months of the extensive 16-month long program required the nurses to use their newfound knowledge and skills in environments they were not accustomed to such as hospitals or private family homes. After completing these requirements, Mahoney graduated in 1879 as a registered nurse alongside two colleagues - the first Black person to do so in the United States.
Mahoney was five feet tall and less than a hundred pounds, but the slight woman was known for her tenacity and work ethic.
A Career of Private Care and Advocacy
After receiving her nursing diploma, Mahoney worked for many years as a private care nurse, earning a distinguished reputation. After graduation, Mahoney remained in Boston and became a private-duty nurse. She was known for her strict professionalism and kind demeanor. She worked for predominantly white, wealthy families. The majority of her work was with new mothers and newborns, in New Jersey, with occasional travel to other states.
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Being African American in a predominantly white society, she often experienced discrimination as an African American woman. Of the many goals that Mahoney had hoped of achieving, one was to change the way patients and families thought of minority nurses. She believed that all people should have the opportunity to chase their dreams without racial discrimination.
Mary Ella Chayer, a former professor of nursing at the Teachers College at Columbia University, wrote of Mahoney in 1954: “This nurse was an outstanding student of her time, an expert and tender practitioner, an exemplary citizen, and an untiring worker in both local and national organizations.
Contributions to Nursing Organizations
In addition to Mahoney’s extraordinary personal career, she is also remembered for her contributions to professional organizations. In 1896, Mahoney became one of the original members of the then-predominantly white Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (NAAUSC), which later became the American Nurses Association (ANA). In the early 1900s, the NAAUSC did not welcome African American nurses into their association.
In response, Mahoney co-founded a new, more welcoming association, with help of Martha Minerva Franklin and Adah B. Thoms. In 1908, Mahoney co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) with Adah B. Thoms. This association did not discriminate against anyone and aimed to support and congratulate the accomplishments of all outstanding nurses, and to eliminate racial discrimination in the nursing community.
From 1911 to 1912, Mahoney served as director of the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum for Black children in Kings Park, Long Island, New York. The asylum served as a home for freed colored children and the colored elderly. This institution was run by African Americans. Here, Mary Eliza Mahoney finished her career, helping people and using her knowledge however she knew best.
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The Legacy of The First Black Nurse: Mary Eliza Mahoney
Legacy and Honors
Mahoney was a prominent advocate for equality in nursing education, as well as a passionate supporter of women’s suffrage. In 1923, Mahoney was diagnosed with breast cancer and battled the illness for 3 years until she died on January 4, 1926, at the age of 80 at New England Hospital for Women and Children, where she had trained.
Ten years after Mahoney’s death, NACGN established the Mary Mahoney Award in 1936. The award continued to be given after NACGN merged with ANA in 1951. Today, the Mary Mahoney Award is presented biennially for significant contributions to the opening and advancement of equal opportunities in nursing for members of minority groups.
Mahoney was inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Mahoney’s grave in Everett, Massachusetts, now serves as a memorial site. In 1973, Helen S. Miller, winner of the Mahoney Award in 1968, led a fundraising drive to erect a monument in honor of Mahoney at the gravesite. Miller’s efforts were supported by the national sorority for professional and student nurses, Chi Eta Phi, and ANA.
Efforts to champion equity and diversity within the health care community continue to this day. Thanks to pioneers like Mahoney, opportunities have been increased for Black and female nurses - increasing representation and access to quality care for all patients. Yet, work remains to be done.
Studies such as this show how it is possible for Black nurses to bolster patients’ trust in the health care system and increase the likelihood that patients will receive culturally competent care. Importantly, all NPs are encouraged to increase their knowledge about culturally competent care and best practices to ensure you build trust and rapport with your patients.
AANP is committed to improving health equity and seeing that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are present within the association and represented throughout the NP community.
By learning more about ways historical and current barriers impact health care, you will be better equipped to advance DEI within the NP role and increase health equity for patients.
February is also known as African American History Month, and many institutions, such as the National Park Service and The Smithsonian Institution, join in paying tribute to the struggle for generations of African Americans to achieve full citizenship as well as common societal American opportunities.
Notable African-American Nurse Pioneers
The profession of nursing shares a long and prestigious history of African-American nurses who dared to break through cultural norms to offer care to their communities. Black nurses such as Harriet Tubman, Mary Eliza Mahoney, and Lillian Holland Harvey did not let the sentiments of their time prevent them from improving not only the lives of those around them but the profession of nursing as a whole.
Through her dedication and perseverance, Mary Eliza Mahoney left an indelible mark on the nursing profession, paving the way for future generations of African American nurses to excel and lead.
