Thelma Pegues has been a trailblazer, an advocate and a mentor. Her commitment to
civil rights and nursing have often overlapped and intertwined, most notably in
her work on the inclusion of ethnic and racial minority content in nursing curriculum.
Thelma entered Dillard University in New Orleans ot pursue a course of study with
plans of becoming a physician. At Dillard, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Pre-Medicine. However, her education was interrupted and redirected with her
relocation to Seattle, Washington.
Thelma attended the University of Washington School of Nursing, completing her Baccalaureate
Degree in Nursing Science in 1955 and a Master’s Degree in Nursing in 1969. In 2001
she was given Minority Student Recognition by the University of Washington which
honors students who experienced, confronted, and broke racial barriers which enabled
future minorities to attend schools of higher learning.
Her leadership abilities and willingness to serve are demonstrated by her appointment
to responsible leadership position in organizations such as WSNA, AARP, Delta Sigma
Thau, an International Public Service Organization, the Mary Mahoney Professional
Nurses’ Organization and other groups. Thelma joined WSNA in 1956 and has been an
active participating member for many years, serving two terms as Chairperson of
the Minority Affairs Committee. She also served on the WSNA Board of Directors for
two years by appointment.
As a member of AARP, she served as the Assistant Director of Washington from 1987
to 1997. Thelma received an award for outstanding AARP Assistant Director for her
work towards the Universal Health Plan in the late 80s.
Thelma has been a leader and an activist in the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses
Organization. A member for 60 years, she has held almost every office, including
President, Secretary, Treasurer, Scholarship Chairperson, Chairperson of the MMPN
Endowment Fund and presenter of numerous outstanding workshops.
Thelma was one of the first African American nurses to secure employment at Harborview
Hospital as a staff nurse working on pediatric, gynecology, and the GU nursing floors.
She was later appointed the Supervisor of In-Service Education in 1960-1970.
Thelma left Harborview to become an educator at in the Seattle Community College
system I 1970. During the Civil Rights movement and a decade later, Thelma actively
engaged in the themes of that era and was on the forefront of the need to bring
about change in the nursing profession. Matriculating at the University of Washington,
she knew firsthand that changes were needed if all patients’ needs were to be met.
The Community College system promised innovative changes in education and reassured
the African American community that minority educators and faculty would be hired
to bring about equality and social justice, and to have a faculty representative
of the of the local population. Thelma was the first African American nursing faculty
member to be appointed to teach nursing at the Seattle Community College campus.
As a nursing educator and activist, she distinguished herself in her 16 years of
employment there by serving on special committees and seeing that all minority voices
in the community were heard and honored.
In addition to advocating for the profession, nursing students, patients and others,
Thelma’s greatest contribution was the inclusion of and increase in ethnic and racial
minority content in the nursing curriculum. This opened a new chapter in nursing
direct patient care for minorities. Thelma’s publications also provided an awareness
and knowledge of the care of the African American patient. Her most widely known
articles include the instructional guide ‘Hair, Scalp and Skin Care of Black Hospitalized
Patients’ published in 1978 and ‘The Physical and Psychological Assessment of the
Black Patient’ in 1979.
Thelma will be remembered by her students and colleagues for going that extra mile
to assist her students who failed the Washington Board of Nursing Examination required
to practice nursing. Thelma took it upon herself to tutor these students until they
successfully passed the examination. Many of these students were minorities or spoke
English as a second language. Her motivation was for them to become effective, efficient
registered nurses that would go out and server their patients with love.
With her distinguished and commendable service, she was featured in a biographical
sketch in the book “African American Nurses in Seattle: The Struggle for Opportunities
and Success”. She was also recently honored with the Nurse of the Year – Nurse Legend
Award by the March of Dimes given to a retired nurse whose lifetime career has advanced
the field of nursing for all generations in the future
