Happy Certified Nurses Day! 14 Iconic Black Nurses Who Changed The Medical Game - Page 4

3. Estelle Massey Osborne

Estelle Massey Osborne broke barriers for African American nurses, opening doors to education and leadership roles in the field. When she enrolled in nursing school in St. Louis, only 14 out of 1,300 nursing schools in the U.S accepted Black students, Chamberlain University noted. She later attended Columbia University, making history as the first Black nurse to earn a master’s degree. She made history, again, in 1946, when she joined New York University as an assistant professor, becoming the institution’s first Black faculty member.

As an advocate for nursing education through her work with NACGN and a member of the American Nurses Association (ANA) — a professional organization that represents nurses throughout the United States — she worked to increase the number of Black nurses in hospitals and educational programs. Osborne was deeply committed to ensuring that Black nurses had access to higher education and leadership opportunities.