Rachela Hutner
Rachela Hutner was a pioneering Polish nurse who was instrumental in the development of the post-World War II nursing profession of her country, pressing for educational requirements and standards. She received numerous awards and honors, including the Knight's Cross and Commander's Cross with the Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta from Poland and the international Florence Nightingale Medal.
Early life
Rachela Hutner was born on 2 July 1909 in Warsaw, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire to the History of [the Jews in Poland|Jewish] couple Hannah and Joel Chaim Hutner. She was the younger sister of Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner. After her primary schooling, she attended the E. Perła-Łubieńska gymnasium, graduating in 1927. Continuing her education, Hutner enrolled in the [University of Warsaw to study in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Before graduating, after three years, she transferred to the Warsaw Nurses' School, from which she graduated in 1937.Career
Immediately after her graduation, Hutner began working in the surgical department at the School of Hygiene. Winning a scholarship from the government to further her education, she traveled to England in 1938 and enrolled at the Queen's Nursing Institute. Graduating in 1939, the outbreak of war delayed her return home and she remained in England, working for the Willesden District Nursing Association. She was one of the nurses who assisted the wounded during the bombing of London in 1940. In 1944, she attended additional courses at the Southend [University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust|Southend-on-Sea Hospital] in Essex and upon completion of her studies went to work at the St James' Hospital in London. Hutner remained active there until she attained a scholarship to attend studies in the United States in 1947. She traveled to Detroit, Michigan and attended Wayne State University in 1947 and 1948, graduating from the School of Pedagogy.In 1948, Hutner returned to Warsaw and began her career at the Ministry of Health, recognizing the nursing shortage caused by the war and inadequate training facilities. She pressed for the organization of the Training Center for Nursing Instructors which opened in 1949 and for which she served as director. Simultaneously, she proposed a center for nurses and candidates to improve their proficiency, though it would not be established until 1961. Hutner was one of the co-founders of the Polish Nursing Association, which was established in 1958. In 1960, after receiving a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, Hutner went on a tour of the Nordic countries to evaluate nursing practices, standards and educational facilities. Returning from abroad, she opened the nurses' training school, which would be renamed in 1962 as the Central Medical Personnel Development Center. She would direct this organization until her retirement, publishing two nursing textbooks, Podręcznik dla pielęgniarek and Pielęgniarstwo specjalistyczne.
Hutner took a course offered by the World Health Organization in Denmark in 1964 to study nursing management and the following year was asked to represent the Polish Nursing Association as their delegate for the International Council of Nurses. She was selected by the ICN to serve on the Admissions Committee for two terms. For seven years she was a lecturer at the Medical University of Lublin for the Nursing Department and taught courses at the Mother and Child Institute in Warsaw. She was also an instructor and expert consultant for the WHO until 1968.