Helen Varney Burst ‘63

90 Outstanding Yale Nurses Recipient

Class of 1963

A living legend in the study of nurse-midwifery, Helen Varney Burst, RN, CNM, MSN, DHL (Hon.), FACNM, has been instrumental in advancing the field to new heights during her long and illustrious career. As Professor Emeritus at YSN, where she served as a faculty member in the nurse-midwifery program from 1979 to 2004, Helen is co-originator of the mastery learning modular curriculum design for nurse-midwifery education and also authored the first textbook for nurse-midwives and midwives in the Americas, Varney’s Midwifery, currently in its fourth edition.

In addition to her work at YSN, Helen directed nurse-midwifery education programs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina, and served as a consultant to many others. She practiced midwifery in a variety of settings and was service director in two. She served in many important roles in the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), including two terms as president from 1977 to 1981; and as chair of two national credentialing mechanisms: Certification (1970s) and Accreditation (1990s).  She was a member of the founding Board of Governors of the Fellowship of the ACNM (FACNM), is a distinguished fellow, and served as chair of the Fellowship from 2002 to 2008.

Helen received ACNM’s highest award, the Hattie Hemschemeyer Award, in 1982, then thought to be the 50th year of nurse-midwifery education in this country. She is recipient of alumni awards from all of her alma maters: Yale University (MSN, 1963), University of Kansas (BSN, 1961), and Kansas State University (BSHE, 1961). In 1987, she received a Doctor in Humane Letters (honoris causa) from Georgetown University. When she retired in 2004, Yale University established the endowed Helen Varney Chair in Midwifery in the School of Nursing.

Currently, Helen is co-authoring a book on the history of midwifery in the United States and just completed the update of YSN’sA Brief History (which she wrote in 1998 for its 75th anniversary) for the 90th anniversary in 2013.

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