THE TROUBLES WITH ANGELS OF MERCY: THE MASS RESIGNATION OF REGISTERED NURSES AT DEKALB GENERAL HOSPITAL, DECATUR, GEORGIA, JANUARY 22, 1969.
Contributors: Emory University.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 266
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Women's Studies.; History, General.
Description: On January 22, 1969, 100 registered nurses tendered their resignations and effected a work stoppage at DeKalb General Hospital in Decatur, Georgia. The nurses resigned en masse when their request for recognition as a professional bargaining unit was denied by hospital administration. The American Nurses' Association campaign to bring collective bargaining to the Southeast on a wide scale was effectively blocked while the threat of unionization brought improvements in the nursing employment package within the Atlanta area. DeKalb General Hospital, assisted by the Georgia Hospital Association and legal counsel, was able to defend against collective bargaining by registered nurses, thereby setting precedent for other employee groups and for other hospitals. The story of the nurses at DeKalb General Hospital highlights the development of employment relations in the workplace when nurses as professional practitioners become wage laborers in a bureaucratically organized hospital in a major Southeastern city.

The chronological story of events at DeKalb General Hospital was developed using papers of the Georgia State Nurses' Association held in the Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University; newspaper reports from the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Journal, DeKalb New Era, and Decatur-DeKalb News; and personal papers and oral histories from 22 people involved in the events. A time line, cast of characters and nursing personnel roster were constructed.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-04, Section: B, page: 1376.

Thesis (PH.D.)--EMORY UNIVERSITY, 1994.

School code: 0665.