Katharine DeWitt (1867–1963) was an American nurse, writer and co-editor of the ''American Journal of Nursing''.

Life and work

DeWitt was born June 11, 1867, as one of five children, in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

, to Mary Hastings and Abner DeWitt. She graduated from Mount Holyoke Seminary in 1887. Although, she initially intended to become a teacher, DeWitt entered the Illinois Training School to learn nursing and graduated in 1891. According to one biography, "It is possible that her assignment to assist the resident physician in the dispensary during her senior year at Mt. Holyoke may have influenced her choice." It goes on to say "she was always more interested in her patients than their diseases." She worked for 16 years as a private duty nurse based in Chicago and was often called to attend to patients out of state, including Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio. She returned to the Illinois Training School to finish postgraduate work in obstetrical nursing, working chiefly with Dr. Joseph B. DeLee, an internationally known obstetrician and vocal proponent of the prophylactic

forceps Forceps (plural forceps or considered a plural noun without a singular, often a pair of forceps; the Latin plural ''forcipes'' is no longer recorded in most dictionaries) are a handheld, hinged instrument used for grasping and holding objects. Fo ...

. In those days of home nursing, she remained busy with her scheduled patients but also lectured in Illinois Training School classes of aspiring private duty nurses. In 1910, DeWitt chaired an early conference devoted wholly to private duty nursing by the National Association. Topics included "Ethical Problems," "The Private Duty Nurse in the Hospital," "The Private Duty Nurse in the Rural Home" and two popular papers on "Missionary Nursing. She was a contributor to the first issue of the ''

American Journal of Nursing The ''American Journal of Nursing'' (AJN) is a monthly peer-reviewed nursing journal established in 1900. the editor-in-chief was Maureen Shawn Kennedy and it is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. In 2009 the journal was selected as one o ...

'', October 1900. When an overworked journal editor needed an assistant in 1907, DeWitt was named co-editor. When the editor-in-chief,

Sophia French Palmer Sophia French Palmer (May 26, 1853 – April 27, 1920) was an American Nursing, nurse, an editor and a Health administration, health administrator. She was the first Editor-in-chief of the ''American Journal of Nursing''. She was the President o ...

, died suddenly in 1920, DeWitt was managing editor until a year later when

Mary May Roberts Mary May Roberts (1877–1959) was an American nurse and long-time editor of the ''American Journal of Nursing''. She was a chief nurse and director at the Army School of Nursing, Camp Sherman, Ohio, Camp Sherman, during World War I and was induct ...

was named the journal's co-editor and the two nurses did the job together. DeWitt resigned from her editing position "of her own volition" on December 31, 1932, leaving Roberts as sole editor. Throughout her life she published guidance about nursing and the role of those who work in the profession. DeWitt died March 12, 1963, in

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, New York, and was buried in Old Mount Ida Cemetery in Troy, New York.

Selected publications

* DeWitt, K. (1904). The training of babies. ''The American Journal of Nursing'', ''4''(8), 588-591. * DeWitt, K. (1907). Operating-Room Procedures. ''The American Journal of Nursing'', ''7''(7), 526-533. * Dewitt, K. (1909). The County Association and Its Relation to the State. ''The American Journal of Nursing'', ''9''(11), 809-815. * DeWitt, K. (1910). The Private Duty Nurse: Her Life, Her Ideal, Her Needs. ''The American Journal of Nursing'', ''10''(5), 308-311. * DeWitt, K. (1933). News from a Far Country. ''AJN The American Journal of Nursing'', ''33''(6), 605. * DeWitt, K. (1950). The journal's first fifty years. ''AJN The American Journal of Nursing'', ''50''(10), 590-596

References

External links

Katharine DeWitt
at Find-a-Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:DeWitt, Katharine 1867 births 1963 deaths People from Troy, New York World War I nurses American nurses Mount Holyoke College alumni American editors American women editors