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Pearl McIver (June 23, 1893 – 1976) was an American nurse and public official. She was noted for her work with the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) and was the first nurse to be employed by the body in providing consultation services on nursing administration. McIver later served with various health organizations, and retired in 1957 after being the USPHS' Chief of the Division of Public Health Nursing. She was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 2014.
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Early life
McIver was born on June 23, 1893, in Lowry, Minnesota. She was the daughter of a Scottish immigrant father and her mother, from Minnesota, was of Norwegian descent. She began her career as a school teacher in North Dakota. McIver attended the University of Minnesota's School of Nursing. She nursed children during the 1918 flu pandemic, and cared for them by removing her mask and cap. McIver then wrapped the child in cloth and rocked them in her arms until they calmed down and consumed fluids. She graduated from the school in 1919, and remained at the university to work in her hospital for the next three years. McIver was also the director of public health nursing in the Missouri State Health Department, and later obtained Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees in administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Career and death
In 1933, she was employed by the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in their Division of Public Health as an public health nursing analyst to concentrate on the national health needs of the people. The USPHS hired other nurses to help McIver in providing consultation to all states regarding issues relating to nursing. She was the first nurse to be employed by the USPHS to provide consultation on nursing administration. McIver was convinced that the strengths of each individual director of public health nursing of each state would influence its scope and quality. She later continued with the service by working in their Division of Domestic Quarantine. McIver was the chief of the Nursing Unit of the Children’s Bureau, and was responsible for training and assigning public health nurseries to various departments in the health sector. After serving as the USPHS Chief of the Division of Public Health Nursing, she retired in 1957.
She also worked with the American Nurses Association (ANA) for nearly 20 years, and was its president between 1948 and 1950. McIver was the editor of the American Journal of Nursing and served as the Vice-President of the American Public Health Association where she oversaw the foundation of the organization's nursing section. She was the chairperson of the Federal Nursing Council, was a member of the Expert Panel of Nursing for the World Health Organization, was the chairperson of the International Council of Nurses Constitution Committee, and was the Vice-Chairperson of the American Nurses Foundation. McIver died in 1976 at the age of 83.
Legacy
McIver helped to influenced a greater than 40% increase in employment in the local public health sectors of each state. She received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota in 1951. In 1955, she was a recipient the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation Public Service Award. The inaugural Public Health Nurse Award was awarded to McIver by the Public Health Nurses Section of the ANA in 1956, which was later renamed in her honor. She was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal by the American Red Cross on May 8, 1961. McIver was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 2014.