Over the last 40 years, the field of nursing has seen an upward trajectory in terms of professionalism, parity, autonomy and accountability. All of this progress, both at Rush and beyond, was shaped in large part by a trailblazer in nursing education and practice: the late Luther P. Christman, PhD, RN, FAAN, founding dean of Rush University College of Nursing.

The nation’s first male dean of a college of nursing and the founder of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing, Christman was a major proponent of men and minorities in nursing at a time when males were not readily accepted in the field. He encouraged nurses’ accountability for patient quality and safety and created a shared governance model, in which clinical nurses shaped nursing care, policies and procedures through Rush’s Professional Nursing Staff. What’s more, Christman’s Rush Model of Nursing, which integrated nursing practice and education, has served as a model for nursing education worldwide.

“ The shift to using practicing clinicians to educate nursing students changed everything,” said Karen Lamb, DNP, RN, GCNS-BC (Pres.-St. Luke’s 1967, Rush MSN 1982, DNP 1991). “With the practitioner-teacher model, students still get excellent hands-on training, as predecessor school alumni did in the diploma schools, but they’re also learning how to think critically, which is absolutely crucial to nurses’ ability to keep up with the rapid expansion of knowledge and technology in health care today.”

“ Luther Christman was a big advocate of the idea that nurses should have parity with other disciplines,” said Jane Llewellyn, PhD, RN (PhD 1982). “He always said, ‘You can’t use knowledge you don’t have.’ He believed that, like physicians, we need to be able to teach and generate that disciplinary knowledge. At a time when many still didn’t believe nursing could or should advance beyond diploma education, he promoted a vision for doctorally prepared nurses at the bedside.”

On Nov. 6, Rush University College of Nursing and Rush University Medical Center celebrated Christman’s many contributions to practice and education — from quality assurance to his support of men in nursing — in a special tribute symposium. A range of nursing leaders — including Lamb; Llewellyn; Sue Hegyvary, PhD, professor and dean emerita of University of Washington School of Nursing; and representatives from the American Assembly for Men in Nursing — reflected on Christman’s leading-edge approach, a vision that Joyce Keithley, DNSc, RN, FAAN (DNSc 1980), says is still being realized.

“ Luther Christman was ahead of his time. In many ways, the field of nursing is still trying to catch up with his vision. And he put Rush at the forefront of this work,” Keithley said. “The College of Nursing opened in 1972, and within a few short years, we were on the map as a leader in the field. Our U.S.News rankings, Rush’s three-time Magnet designation, our record for producing some of the nation’s top nursing leaders: we can trace all of this back to Luther’s leadership.”