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Diploma Programs ( Show Map )

In the late 19th century, even the most comprehensive nurse training schools overwhelmingly emphasized practice over theory. Programs based largely out of hospitals and leading to a diploma were very well-suited for this sort of training, and proved very popular among prospective nurses, training the majority of the nursing workforce well into the 1950s.

However, through the middle of the 20th century, these programs began to lose popularity to other forms of training as the way patients were cared for shifted and costs of hospital care skyrocketed. Many hospital schools faced serious financial difficulties starting in the 1950s, and by the 1970s 30 to 40 diploma programs were closing their doors every year.