During World War II, the United States faced a critical shortage of trained nurses as many medical professionals left civilian hospitals to serve in the armed forces. To address this need, Congress passed the Bolton Nurse Training Act in 1943, creating the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps. The program provided federal funding to nursing schools, covering tuition, books, uniforms, and a monthly stipend in exchange for students’ commitment to serve in essential nursing roles for the duration of the war. More than 1,100 hospitals and schools across the country participated in the program, including Mercy Hospital in Valley City.

Listen as Cadet Nurse Ethelyn Paulson offers a personal glimpse into what it was like to train as a nurse during this pivotal time. Her memories provide valuable insight into the experiences of the cadet nurses who trained at Mercy Hospital between 1944 and 1948 and helped fill the urgent demand for nurses during and after the war.

Ethelyn Paulson: Well, I always intended to be a nurse. I had a relative that was a nurse. She was older than me, and she was my model. And I thought you know, I wanted to be a nurse. Amy Pollock was the one that coaxed me into coming as early as I did and I’m glad now. We got everything free and then we even got an allowance. Each month. It started out, I think it was $15.00 and then the next year it was more and the longer we stayed, the more we got.

Interviewer: A month? $15.00 a month?

Ethelyn Paulson: $15.00 a month. Yeah. Well, we were like sisters, you know. We were living together and putting up with the same stuff.

Interviewer: So you graduated high school in 1940?

Ethelyn Paulson: I packed up that weekend and moved up here right away and started in. There was a shortage of nurses, you know. Because they were in the service at the time, and so we kind of filled in and it was quite an experience. Yeah, and the stockings, our hair couldn’t touch our shoulders. The dresses that we wore had to be at mid-calf, and they had many rules about how we were supposed to look in our caps.

The memories shared in this interview highlight the dedication and resilience of the young women who joined the Cadet Nurse Corps during World War II. A total of 58 cadet nurses graduated from Mercy Hospital’s School of Nursing between 1944 and 1948. To learn more first-hand perspectives from World War II, keep exploring the Valley City Talking Trail.