Co-contributor: Karen Anne Wolf, PhD, RNP, DPNAP
I am indebted to Peggy Chinn, who recently alerted colleagues, including me, to Jo Ann Ashley’s work and asked if someone would write a blog about Dr. Ashley. I volunteered to do so, in part because I know of her work and, if memory serves, I was present at a lecture Dr. Ashley presented at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing circa 1979. However, vast numbers of nursologists “have never heard of [Dr. Ashley] and students overall have no awareness of her life, her struggles, and the significant body of work that is her legacy” (Kagan, 2006, p.317).
Therefore, this blog is especially important at this time in the history of contemporary nursology when all of healthcare and all healthcare team members, including nursologists, are being challenged by the largely draconian health-related policies of the current United States federal government. Please note that I (JF) have substituted nursology and nursologist for nursing and nurses, respectively, throughout this blog. I would like to think that Dr. Ashley would support the use of these terms.
Jo Ann Ashley was a pioneer in the scholarship of nursology history as it pertains to how the paternalistic and hierarchical approach to health care, with its goal to oppress nursologists, was anathema to independent nursology. Misogyny was rife in clinical agencies at the time of Dr. Ashley’s 1976 book, Hospitals, Paternalism, and the Role of the Nurse and continues in some situations today, especially in the way in which nursologists of color are marginalized (Jassy, 2025 ).
Ashley’s 1976 book was based on her landmark dissertation (Ashley, 1972). This book, “published at the height of the women’s movement in the 1970s, created (and still engenders) controversy with its pointed condemnation of sexism towards and exploitation of nurses by hospital administrators and physicians (P. L. Chinn, personal communication, December 11, 2025).
Dr. Ashley remained, almost to her death, a prolific writer, public speaker, and lecturer on a variety of topics germane to nursology, but she was particularly interested in the role of nursology within the health field, power in nursology, and nursology’s historical perspective. She called on nursologists to use their power to align with health care consumers to advocate for change. In her later work, “Power and Structured Misogyny” (Ashley, 1980), Ashley cautioned nursologists against following male-defined standards of professionalism. She encouraged them to exercise their own agency, support feminist ideals, and unite with other women for social justice and health care reform. Throughout her brief life, Ashley’s writing developed to embody various feminist perspectives. This is evident from her more than 300 articles, speeches, and poems. Many of Ashley’s poems showcased her fascination with social issues and her perspectives on the role of women in society (https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/live/files/1826-pu-n-mc-115-jo-ann-ashley-papers).
Dr. Ashley’s approach to nursology history was much more than the chronological descriptions of what had happened when, which was the prevailing approach at the time of her scholarly work. She was a strong and vocal advocate of interpretive and creative nursology history, placing events of the past within the social context of the relevant time (Ashley, 1978). Clearly, her own historical work reflected that approach. Despite many nursologists critics of her approach, she prevailed with many publications, indicating that journal editors and peer reviewers applauded her ideas.
Dr. Ashley’s conviction about the way in which nursology educational programs and systems of clinical practice oppressed nursologists lead to her joining colleagues in founding the Nurses Coalition for Action in Politics. Her impressive program of scholarship addressed how misogyny and oppression were affected by those who held power and the influence of polices and politics on nursology practice. One wonders about the extent to which Dr. Ashley’s work influenced the 2020 founding of the journal, Policies, Politics, and Nursing Practice . JF: full disclosure: I currently am a Senior Associate Editor of this journal).
In her 2006 tribute to Dr. Ashley, Kagan (2006) wrote, “Then [at the time or her 1972 dissertation and 1976 book], as today, her message—that [nursologists] retain control and power over their professional practice and providence, was mainly ignored. Dr. Ashley’s ideas are consistent with current analyses, as well as conventional wisdom, that there exist in the United States, and other Western countries, inherent systematic problems in healthcare practice and provision” (p. 317).
Noteworthy is that Dr. Ashley was a prolific and powerful speaker, using a speaking cadence akin to a revival minister to nursologists to action (Wolf, 1997). She became a popular speaker to professional nursing organization, nursing programs and women’s organization. In demand as a graduation speaker, she spoke to nursology programs at all levels, including associate degree programs. “She had a strong message inspiring the graduates to continue their education – she would ask them – ‘who does not want more education?’” (P. L. Chinn, personal communication, December 10, 2025).
Dr. Ashley’s many accomplishments were made during the too few years she survived a diagnosis of breast cancer, which she received while completing her doctoral dissertation. Wo (1997, as cited in Kagan, 2006, p. 318) noted, “diagnosed with breast cancer in her thirties, [Dr. Ashley] maintained a vigorous life of teaching, research, writing, and political action. Her personal struggles with cancer were not to be publicly acknowledged. “Dr. Ashley was well aware of the stigma attached to ‘cancer,’ and she feared that her words and work would be delegitimated if her illness were publicly known” (Wolf, 1997, p. 10 ), .
Dr. Ashley remains highly regarded as a “Leading voice in [nursology] for 2nd wave feminism . . . [and an] Advocate for nurses to claim the right to control our own practice, to demand safe working conditions, to practice to the full extent of our education, and to fight for economic justice” (Nursing Activism Gallery: Jo Ann Ashley 1939-1980)
Biographical Information
Dr. Ashley was born on October 29, 1939, in Sweden, Kentucky, the fourth of seven children (Ruffing-Rahel, 2000, p..4). and “grew up in a time of shifting values, social unrest, and expanding personal boundaries, particularly for women” (Kagan, 2006, p. 317). She died on November 20, 1980, in Morgantown, WV, (Ruffing-Rahel, 2000, p. 4) at the age of 41.
Education
Diploma in Nursing, Kentucky Baptist School of Nursing, Louisville, KY, 1961
BSN, Catherine Spaulding College, Louisville, KY, 1964
M.Ed, Teacher’s College Columbia University, New York, NY, 1969
EdD, Teacher’s College Columbia University, New York, NY, 1972
Career
Staff Nurse, Kentucky Baptist School of Nursing, Louisville, KY, 1961-circa 1964
Instructor, Norton Memorial Infirmary School of Nursing, Louisville, KY, 1964-1966
Staff Nurse, Veterans Administration Hospital, Brecksville, OH, 1966-1967
Staff Nurse, Veterans Administration Hospital, New York, NY, 1967-circa 1968
Faculty, City College of New York, Pennsylvania State University, Northen Illinois University, Wright State University, Texas Women’s University, and West Virginia University, 1972-circa 1980
References
Ashley, J. A. (1972). Hospital sponsorship of nursing schools : Influence of apprenticeship and paternalism on nursing education in America, 1893-1948. Doctoral dissertation. Teachers College Columbia University.
Ashley, J. A. (1976). Hospitals, paternalism, and the role of the nurse. Teachers College Press.
Ashley, J. A. (1978). Foundations for scholarship: Historical research in nursing .Advances in Nursing Science, 1(1), 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1097/00012272-197810000-00005
Ashley, J. A. (1980). Power in structured misogyny: Implications for the politics of care. ANS. Advances in Nursing Science, 2(3), 3–22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6767437
Chinn, P. L. (2018, February 18). Jo Ann Ashley 1939-1980. nursemmanifest.com. https://nursemanifest.com/2018/02/18/jo-ann-ashley-1939-1980/
Jassy, A. Racism and Marginalization Experiences of Black Female Nurses Within Acute Care US Hospitals: Do History and Institutional Policies Matter? Doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts Boston, 2025.
Kagan, P. N. (2006). Jo Ann Ashley 30 years later: Legacy for practice. Nursing Science Quarterly, 19(4):317-327. doi: 10.1177/0894318406293121.
Ruffing-Rahel, M. (2000). Jo Ann Ashley. In V. L. Bullough & Sentz, L. (Eds.). American nursing: A biographical dictionary (Vol. 3, pp. 3-5). Springer. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/umboston/reader.action?docID=423438&ppg=20&c=UERG
Wolf, K. (Ed.). (1997). Jo Ann Ashley: Selected readings. National League for Nursing. https://market.android.com/details?id=book-242diP_sDdkC
Partial Bibliography in addition to the references cited, provided by Peggy L. Chin
Ashley, J. A. (1975). Nurses in American history: Nursing and early feminism. The American Journal of Nursing, 75(9), 1465–1467. https://doi.org/10.2307/3423382
Ashley, J. A. (1978). Foundations for scholarship: Historical research in nursing. ANS. Advances in Nursing Science, 1(1), 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1097/00012272-197810000-00005
Kagan, P. N., & Chinn, P. L. (2010). We’re all here for the good of the patient: A dialogue on power: Nursing Science Quarterly, 23(1), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318409353808
Mitchell, G. J. (2006). Living connections: A posthumous engagement with Jo Ann Ashley. Nursing Science Quarterly, 19(4), 316–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318406292797
WNED Video of “New Image for Nurses” interview can be viewed at https://nursemanifest.com/2018/02/18/jo-ann-ashley-1939-1980/, as well as at https://www.truthaboutnursing.org/research/lit/jo-ann-ashley.html#gsc.tab=0. The interview features a conversation with June Rothberg, Ph.D., Jean Spero, Ph.D., and Joanne Ashley, Ph. D. Dr. Rothberg wasDean of the School of Nursing at Adelphi University. Dr. Spero was Dean of the School of Nursing at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Ashley, author of “Hospitals, Paternalism, and the Role of the Nurse.” was an Associate Professor of Nursing at Northern Illinois University.
- Additional references are found in Ruffing-Rahel, M. (2000). Jo Ann Ashley. In V. L. Bullough & L. Sentz (Eds.). American nursing: A biographical dictionary (Vol. 3, pp. 4-5). Springer. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/umboston/reader.action?docID=423438&ppg=20&c=UERG
- Dr. Ashley’s papers are held by the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/live/files/1826-pu-n-mc-115-jo-ann-ashley-papers
- Information about Dr. Ashley’s life, education, and career is from Ruffing-Rahel, 2000, pp. 3-5.
- Additional information is from an interview on WNED public television in Buffalo, NY, on September 2, 1976, as part of the TV station’s “New Image for Nurses: Part 1 series” (https://www.truthaboutnursing.org/research/lit/jo-ann-ashley.html#gsc.tab=0). Dr. Ashley’s responses to the interview questions reflect her “feisty and courageous personality! She was fearless in speaking the truth” (Chinn, P. L. (2018, February 18).
- Jo Ann Ashley 1939-1980. nursemmanifest.com. https://nursemanifest.com/2018/02/18/jo-ann-ashley-1939-1980).
- The video of her interview can be viewed at https://nursemanifest.com/2018/02/18/jo-ann-ashley-1939-1980/, as well as at https://www.truthaboutnursing.org/research/lit/jo-ann-ashley.html#gsc.tab=0
About co-contributor Karen Anne Wolf
Dr. Wolf was formerly professor and faculty development coordinator at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland California. She was a founding faculty member of the DNP program both there and at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. A graduate of Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, Boston University, Brandeis University, and University of Massachusetts-Worcester, she served as faculty and Associate Director of the programs in nursing at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. She was a community health clinical specialist and a practicing nurse practitioner practiced in Berkeley. CA, and served as director of health & wellness for the Cambridge Health Alliance Senior Health Center. Her scholarship is focused on the history and future of nursing as work, including the inter-professionalism. She has lectured widely on professional issues and nursing history and politics. She has been active as former chair of the National Academies of Practice- Nursing Academy, as well as a representative to the IOM Forum on Innovations in Global Health Professions Education.
Her publications include Nursing as Body-Work in ANS, Global Public Health Nursing, in the Global Nursing for the 21st Century, A History of Nursing Ideas, by Jones & Bartlett; The selected works of Jo Ann Ashley, and the 125th anniversary update of the Massachusetts General Hospital Nursing Education, The next Twenty-five Years. In addition, she has published articles in both the professional and lay press and has contributed to media projects including the film Nursing the Politics of Caring, Code Grey, Community Voices and the popular book, Our Bodies, Our Selves. She serves as the coordinator of the Massachusetts first generation Nurse Practitioner oral history project.