Mabel Wandelt
{{Short description|American nurse}}
Mabel Ann Wandelt (1917–2008) was an American nurse who made important contributions to the assessment of nursing quality within healthcare organizations. Wandelt was a nursing professor at Wayne State University, the University of Delaware and the University of Texas at Austin. She developed the Quality Patient Care Scale (Qualpacs) and performed much of the nursing retention research that later formed the Magnet Recognition Program.
Biography
Mabel Wandelt was born in Daggett, Michigan in 1917. She received a nursing diploma from Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. She earned an undergraduate degree in public health nursing from Wayne State University in 1944. She attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, graduating with a Master of Public Health in 1948 and a doctorate in education in 1954.{{cite web|title=In Memoriam: Mabel Wandelt|url=http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/2008-2009/memorials/wandelt.html|publisher=University of Texas at Austin Faculty Council|accessdate=May 22, 2013}}
Wandelt's early professional experiences included service in the Army Nurse Corps and a stint as a tuberculosis specialist in Washington, DC. She worked as a nurse educator at a Texas hospital before joining the faculty at Wayne State University in 1958. In 1973, Wandelt moved to the University of Delaware, where she served as a professor, assistant dean and acting dean. She taught at the University of Texas at Austin from 1977 to 1982, when she was named a Professor Emeritus.{{cite web|title=ANCC Mourns Loss of Original Magnet™ Researcher: Mabel A. Wandelt, PhD, RN, FAAN|url=http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Headlines/WandeltAnnouncement.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025052406/http://nursecredentialing.org/Headlines/WandeltAnnouncement.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2012|publisher=American Nurses Credentialing Center|accessdate=May 22, 2013}}
While performing research on nursing turnover in Texas hospitals, Wandelt noticed an unexpected phenomenon. She found that where a particular hospital might be struggling with nursing recruitment and retention, there was often a nearby hospital having no such difficulties. Wandelt proposed to study these successful organizations and was one of four authors who published Magnet Hospitals: Attraction and Retention of Professional Nurses. This publication formed the basis of the Magnet Recognition Program. Wandelt and a colleague created the Quality Patient Care Scale (Qualpacs), an observational rating scale to measure nursing care quality. The details of the scale were published in 1974 and Wandelt's work influenced future metrics of nursing care. Wandelt was also the author of Guide for the Beginning Researcher and she served as an international nursing consultant.{{cite news|title=Dr. Wandelt Named Dean|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DhpKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QyENAAAAIBAJ&pg=1010,2719185&dq=mabel+wandelt&hl=en|accessdate=May 22, 2013|newspaper=The Afro American|date=June 28, 1975}}
In 1997, Wandelt was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing.{{cite web|title=Living Legends |url=http://www.aannet.org/living-legends-complete-list |publisher=American Academy of Nursing |accessdate=May 22, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412055058/http://www.aannet.org/living-legends-complete-list |archivedate=April 12, 2012 }} She died at the age of 91 on November 20, 2008.
References
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Category:American nursing administrators
Category:University of Michigan School of Public Health alumni
Category:Wayne State University alumni
Category:University of Texas at Austin faculty
Category:University of Delaware faculty
Category:Wayne State University faculty
Category:United States Army Nurse Corps officers
Category:American nursing educators
Category:Women in the United States Army