It is an end of an era—a very long era. Marilynn Elizabeth Doenges died a few months short of her 102nd birthday. She was one of those special people who could honestly say “Been there, done that, have the t-shirt!” Prior to her death she was honored with Living Legend status at the Women’s War Memorial in Washington DC.
Marilynn was an Army nurse overseas at the end of WW II in Europe. While taking care of the troops she used every free moment to travel the continent. After her return stateside, she worked in a number of nursing settings over the years while she raised a family and pursued her education eventually becoming a Psychiatric Nurse Specialist.
In 1982 while working on the first care plan book, Marilynn became a pioneer and dived into the world of computers with a ‘portable” Osborne which weighed 24.5 lb, with 64K RAM, 5” monitor, and dual 5-1/4-inch floppy discs—yes really floppy! The care plans were constructed in 2 columns so working on a 5” screen was a pain on multiple levels and material lost was generally not retrievable!
Another new development was the introduction of NANDA Nursing Diagnosis. An early list of titles (no definitions or guide as to how to use the labels) was obtained in 1982 at a nursing conference and recognizing the benefit of a standardized nursing language Marilynn became an early adopter revolutionizing the way care plans were created.
Together with her partners Mary Frances Moorhouse and Alice C. Murr, they wrote a number of textbooks, manuals, care planning books and pocket guides on the nursing process and the use of nursing diagnoses. Receiving recognition as “Book of the Year” for several of the projects served to “doom” Marilynn and her partners to continue in this high-pressure endeavor.
Her works have been translated into fifteen languages. Marilynn contributed significantly to the application of nursing diagnoses in the clinical setting and received many awards for her outstanding work. She indirectly boosted the development of nursing literature, as the success of her work opened up the scope for both US publisher FA Davis and the German Hogrefe Publisher to invest more in the development of their range of nursing books.
In another pioneering moment, Marilynn opened a private counseling practice and demonstrated her commitment to standardized nursing language by using NANDA nursing diagnoses in documenting client visits and including them when billing for her services.
Marilynn has spread knowledge about nursing diagnoses worldwide with her books and lectures. Her life and work has had a lasting influence on many nurses around the world.
From a professional standpoint though, this was the highlight of Marilynn’s career and brought her much joy and personal pride in sharing her work with students and professional nurses alike. In her last days she continued to share her books with the hospice nurses caring for her. A dedicated nurse to the end.
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