Winnie Gibson (1902–2000) was the second director of the

United States Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965. Pre-190 ...

, serving in that position from 1950 to 1954.

Navy Nurse Corps career

Captain Gibson graduated from Seton Hospital,

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, in May 1923, and worked in civilian hospitals for seven years. She became a

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

in December 1930. After joining the

in 1930, she served at Naval Hospital,

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, and Naval Hospital,

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. In January 1934, she attended the School of Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine at

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in Philadelphia for instruction in anesthesia. In May 1934 she was assigned as Operating Room Supervisor and Anesthetist at Naval Hospital, New York City, and was subsequently assigned to the same duties at Quantico, Virginia. In 1937, she was assigned to the . After her tour on the ''Relief'', she was assigned as Anesthetist at Naval Hospital, Mare Island, California, and then as Anesthetist and Operating Room Supervisor at Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was at Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941. In following tours, she was assigned as Chief Nurse at the Naval Hospitals in

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;

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; and

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. Her last tour before being selected as Director was as Chief Nurse, U. S. Naval Hospital, Naval Medical Center,

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, Marianas Islands.

Director

During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Captain Gibson presided over a Nurse Corps that was required to involuntarily recall Reserve nurses at the rate of 125 per week and "freeze" those on active duty. She retired from active duty on 1 May 1954.

Later life

Gibson retired to

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, then to

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. She died on 21 July 2000, and is buried at Restland Memorial Park in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

External links

Nurses and the U.S. Navy -- Overview and Special Image Selection
Naval Historical Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Winnie 1902 births 2000 deaths American nursing administrators Female wartime nurses United States Navy Nurse Corps officers United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Female United States Navy officers Korean War nurses Female United States Navy nurses in World War II

Navy Nurse Corps career

Director

Later life

Further reading

External links