Dr. Luther Christman’s most important contribution to the nursing profession was the merging of university education and service leadership into the role of the Teacher-Practitioner. He pioneered linking practice and study in the programs of Rush University in Chicago. As a young man, Luther Christman entered the School of Nursing at Pennsylvania Hospital to be close to his wife, Dorothy. Luther’s professional activities helped change the nursing profession and he has served as in inspiration to two generations of men in nursing.

 

Throughout his career, Luther Christman challenged the status quo, whether it was as a staff nurse, administrator, or academic. Christman’s accomplishments are too many to list here but the following examples illustrate some of the highlights of his career:

• Developed the Rush Model of Nursing, allowing nursing faculty to hold both clinical and academic appointments
• Founding member of the American Academy of Nursing
• Challenged the U.S. Army to allow men to serve as nurses in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II
• Campaigned for a single entry-level education for the nursing profession
• Ran for president of the American Nurses Association (ANA). To date, no man has served as ANA president
• First man to be inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame
• Addressed the issues men confront in the nursing profession
• Advocated for higher levels of education for clinical nurses and was an active proponent in the development of the nurse practitioner role and clinical doctoral nursing programs
• Presented 417 papers and published 88 articles

After the 1974 formation of the National Male Nurse Association, Christman single-handedly supported the organization through the convening of Annual Conferences in Chicago. Luther Christman’s efforts for the American Assembly for Men in Nursing helped develop a national forum for recruiting and supporting men in the nursing profession.