When the nursing program at Worcester State was founded in 1974 by Dr. Lillian R. Goodman, the entire department had three faculty members. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the program has more than 100 full-time and adjunct faculty members and has educated generations of nursing students who have gone into the community as practicing nurses and educators. In many ways, the story of Worcester State’s now esteemed nursing program is the story of Worcester’s evolving and rapidly growing health care industry.
“We are proud of The Lillian Goodman Department of Nursing,” said Linda Larrivee, dean of the School of Science, Technology, and Health. “It has been, and continues to be, an important part of the fabric of Worcester State University. This department has been a mainstay in teaching, training, and mentoring well-qualified nurses to fill the needs of the local community, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and beyond.”
Health care in Worcester—and Massachusetts, as a whole—was very different in the 1970s when the program was developed, said founding faculty member Dr. Mary K. Alexander. She and the late Dr. Lillian R. Goodman (1923-2018), founding chair, and Dr. Mary Lou Lovering (1932-2019) were education pioneers who founded the program at Worcester State to address a need for highly trained nurses.
“When we started our program, there were two doctorally prepared nurses in the city of Worcester,” Alexander said. “One was Lillian.” A nurse practitioner, Alexander taught her students the practice of nursing, including how to conduct examinations, note symptoms, and offer comfort to patients.
Alexander knew the new program would be a success because nurses are always in high demand. “When I was 10 years old, my mother said to me, ‘If you want a job for the rest of your life, you need to be one of three things: a nurse, a tax collector, or an undertaker,’” she said.
That sentiment has so far proved to be true. Visit any clinic or hospital in the Worcester area, and you are likely to encounter a nurse who graduated from the Lillian R. Goodman Department of Nursing. The program has consistently topped statewide rankings by RegisteredNurse.org.
This is the result of a continuing standard of excellence at Worcester State. In the 1980s, the program expanded to offer a generic bachelor of science in nursing as well as the first B.S. program for registered nurses in New England. In 2008, the university introduced a master of science in nursing program. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Worcester State nursing graduates and students filled vital roles in the city’s hospitals.
“In my professional and personal lives, I have been able to observe our students and graduates in their roles in hospitals and clinics,” Larrivee said. “Their professional skills as well as their caring demeanor are a testament to the dedication of our faculty and staff. Importantly, feedback from our community partners, both those who take our students for training and those who hire our graduates, has always been stellar.”
Dr. Goodman, for whom the department was named in 2011, served as chair of the Nursing Department from 1974 to 1991. She had previously served as a psychiatric nurse for the state of Massachusetts—experience that Alexander says served her well. “I don’t think that there was another person in the world that could have started that program and stayed with it until she did,” Alexander said. “I don’t think Florence Nightingale could’ve done it. It was tough.”
Although Goodman had the support of Worcester State’s administration, navigating the politics of Worcester’s hospital schools was a delicate and demanding task. Goodman, whose first office at Worcester State was a closet under the stairs, also worked to get the resources she needed to run her department. Dr. Jean Campaniello, one of the first graduates of the program, remembers the challenges of those early days. “At that time, we didn’t have the respect that the program garnishes now,” she said. “Now, it’s a highly respected program.”
Because of the efforts of Goodman, Alexander, and Lovering; Campaniello, who later served as chair of the department; and those early faculty members, though, the program quickly gained recognition for its rigorous curriculum and emphasis on clinical practice. Its reputation has only continued to grow.
Now the department is celebrating its 50th anniversary as the university celebrates its 150th.
“The impact of our nursing program and our graduates on the community is amazing. Really amazing,” said Alexander.
The 50th anniversary, said Associate Dean Catherine Thomas, is an important milestone. “We are proud that our graduates have and will continue to contribute to the health and well-being of the Worcester community and beyond. Our clinical practice partners hire our graduates from our programs to work in a variety of health care settings caring for people across the lifespan.”
The department has plans for a formal celebration in the spring.
Top image: Dr. Lillian R. Goodman
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