Interview with Katherine Lillehei

Abstract

Katherine Lillehei begins by describing her background, including her education and why she went into nursing. She discusses her experiences as a nursing student at the University of Minnesota, working at the General Hospital, working at the University Hospital, and as a private duty nurse. She describes the relationship between nurses and physicians; the heart/lung machine; the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Lillehei lectures; the experiences of wives of surgeons; the elimination of the practical nursing degree program at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing; and commuting back and forth to New York City while her husband worked at the New York Hospital. She discusses her husband, C. Walton Lillehei, touching on topics such as his experiences with cancer and the atmosphere in the Department of Surgery while he was there. She talks about Richard Varco, Owen Wangensteen, Earl Bakken, Maurice Vischer, Katherine Densford, Ellen Fahy, and other School of Nursing Deans.