Authors

  1. Gorman, Geraldine PhD, RN
  2. Lusk, Brigid PhD, RN, FAAN
  3. Clay, Rebecca MSN, RN

Abstract

In 2016, students and faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago recreated and celebrated the life of nursing leader, Anne Larson Zimmerman (1914-2003). Students conducted archival research and oral histories. Faculty transformed their findings into a script recreating Zimmerman's life. Following months of rehearsals, 22 nursing students, directed by 2 theater students, offered 3 performances of While I am Here: The Life and Legacy of Anne Zimmerman. Audiences included Zimmerman's family, the general public, students, and nurses. Through their engagement in the project, students discovered in Zimmerman a role model for social justice leadership and deepened appreciation of nursing history's relevancy.