Chapter 04: The 1970s at MD Anderson: Renilda Hilkemeyer, the “Mother of Oncology Nursing” and Innovations in Oncology Nursing
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Identifier
BrewerCC_20061406_C04
Publication Date
6-14-2006
City
Houston, Texas
Interview Session
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS, Oral History Interview, June 14, 2006
Topics Covered
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center - Building the Institution; Understanding Cancer, the History of Science, Cancer Research; The History of Health Care, Patient Care; Portraits; MD Anderson Culture; Working Environment; Institutional Mission and Values; Building/Transforming the Institution; MD Anderson History; MD Anderson Snapshot; Leadership; On Leadership; Mentoring; On Mentoring
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Disciplines
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History
Transcript
Lesley W. Brunet:
The '70s was a very important period. MD Anderson really made progress and advances.
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS:
I think the '70s were a very innovative time. It was an opportune time because things were innovation, new techniques, new knowledge, new skills, adventurous, things were happening not only in medicine, but also for nursing. Nursing was transitioning from -- we had more associate degree programs coming in more focused on nurses getting their Master's degrees, and new programs (inaudible) to be a clinical nurse specialist. And you know, we did a lot of writing and exploring in the '70s. You know, and early nursing at MD Anderson in those years, we -- Joyce -- Hilkemeyer, was -- Miss Hilkemeyer was retiring in the '70s, and Joyce Alt, who was a nurse in the [PATU?] became the director of nursing after Miss Hilkemeyer, and she brought in her program. And her program was called a career ladder program, which helped nurses to progress along the continuum of education, and we were all known as clinicians. Clinician one, two, three, four, and clinical nurse specialist. She put in a whole program back in the '70s that --
Lesley W. Brunet:
What did she put? Career development program?
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS:
Career ladder program.
Lesley W. Brunet:
Ladder.
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS:
And we got to participate in those activities and how to, you know, different nurses at different skill levels. You had a different grade. Grade one, grade two, grade three, grade four.
Lesley W. Brunet:
And that was -- I guess I like to compare that with what was the system under Hilkemeyer.
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS:
Well, Hilkemeyer was basic -- Miss Hilkemeyer had a basic -- was into basic nursing because, you know, she was one of the first directors, and MD Anderson was just formed in the post-war. And so nurses were just nurses. You were a staff nurse. You were --
Lesley W. Brunet:
I thought she was supposed to be the, you know, kind of mother of oncology nursing.
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS:
She was. She was the mother of oncology nursing because at that time, oncology nursing was in its very infancy. She and Dr. Clark, you know, as you read their story, started oncology nursing in the -- you know, in the -- and they did it first on the first publications and first writings came from her era. And about what was happening with cancer at the time. You know, this place was called a cancer and tumor institute, or something like that. And so Miss Hilkemeyer did a lot of the -- she was the -- she fostered the growth of oncology nursing.
Lesley W. Brunet:
Oh, good. But there wasn’t a kind of a career development.
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS:
Well, Miss Hilkemeyer did some innovative things. You can go back and look at her bio, I think she went out and she was one of the first people to start looking at foreign graduate association. I think she was one of the first to --
Lesley W. Brunet:
Is that a good thing?
Cecil C. Brewer, RN, BSN, MS:
Yeah, to go to nursing and to work with other countries with nurses to do programs here. She got -- she was the first to go and bring in some of the Filipino type of community nurses to MD Anderson.
Lesley W. Brunet:
Yeah, sorry --
Recommended Citation
Brewer, Cecil C. RN, BSN, MS and Brunet, Lesley W., "Chapter 04: The 1970s at MD Anderson: Renilda Hilkemeyer, the “Mother of Oncology Nursing” and Innovations in Oncology Nursing" (2006). Interview Chapters. 900.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/900
Conditions Governing Access
Open
