About the Department

UCSF Nursing 100 years of Excellence
UCSF Nursing celebrated 100 years of Excellence.
Please see its celebration video (wmv - Windows Media Player).

History of the Department

Toland Medical College 1885 The history of the Department of Nursing parallels that of the UCSF Medical Center. The medical center's beginnings date back to 1864 when Dr. Hugh H. Toland founded Toland Medical College (pictured at left in 1885 Ansel Adams photograph) which subsequently became the medical department of the University of California. In 1895, San Francisco Mayor Adolph Sutro donated 13 acres on Mount Parnassus to the university for the construction of a new medical facility which opened three years later.

tent encampment after 1906 earthquake The Parnassus facility included the schools of medicine and nursing, a dental college and the college of pharmacy - but no hospital. In response to the great earthquake of 1906, a makeshift hospital, staffed by medical center personnel, was set up at Parnassus and in nearby Golden Gate Park [1906 park encampment at right; buildings of the college can be seen on ridge] . Shortly thereafter, construction began on the first UC Hospital at the Parnassus site which opened in 1907. That same year, Margaret Crawford was appointed the first director of nurses at the new UC Hospital, and a training course for nurses was authorized.

Nurses circa World War I The hospital building soon was considered inadequate and a new UC Hospital opened in 1917, the same year World War I broke out. Many UC doctors, nurses and other medical personnel served in a base hospital in Europe during that war (photograph at left of nurses of the period), and again during World War II. Construction of the present Moffitt Hospital was completed in 1955. In 1965, the school of nursing introduced the doctor of nursing science degree, the first in the nation. Five years later, the campus was renamed the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

A separate facility, Mount Zion Hospital, had opened in 1899 to serve the Jewish immigrant community in San Francisco and it expanded considerably during the succeeding years. Strong teaching and clinical ties developed between UCSF Medical Center and Mount Zion Hospital which culminated in their merger in 1990.

Throughout its history, UCSF Medical Center has steadily grown in both size and prestige. The future promises continued growth with the expansion of Mount Zion, the planned replacement of Moffitt Hospital, and the construction of UCSF's new Mission Bay campus facilities that is presently underway.




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