Philip Arthur Kalisch, PhD, leading authority on the history and image of nursing, passes away.

April 3, 1942 – May 22, 2010

ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Dr. Philip A. Kalisch, professor of nursing at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, died Saturday, May 22, 2010, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Dr. Kalisch joined the faculty in 1974 and with Dr. Beatrice Kalisch conducted hallmark research on the history and politics of nursing, nursing's public image, and the nurse shortage. Their work included four editions of The Advance of American Nursing (recipient of the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award in 1978 and 1986); Politics of Nursing (recipient of the 1982 American Journal of Nursing Book of Year Award); The Changing Image of the Nurse; Images of Nurses on Television; Nursing Involvement in the Health Planning Process; From Training to Education: The Impact of Federal Aid on Schools of Nursing in the United States in the 1940s; Nurturer of Nurses: The History of the Division of Nursing of the U.S. Public Health Services and Its Antecedents, 1798-1977; and Job Performance of Foreign Nurses in New York City Under the HI-A Visa Program. In addition, Dr. Kalisch authored or co-authored over 100 journal articles, monographs and reports.

Dr. Kalisch received his baccalaureate and master’s education in social science from the University of Nebraska and his doctorate in history from Pennsylvania State University.  He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in 1968, and other post-doctoral work included extensive business and healthcare training courses at the University of Michigan, American Management Association, and Healthcare Financial Management Association. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, he held instructor of economics positions at Northwest Missouri State University and Pennsylvania State University, and professorial positions in social science and director of social sciences at both West Texas A&M University and the University of Southern Mississippi. He was a visiting distinguished professor at the University of Alabama School of Nursing; University of Texas Health Sciences Center; and Texas Christian University. He also served as interim executive director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Waterbury, Vermont.

Dr. Kalisch’s honors include membership in Phi Alpha Theta, an honor society for history scholars, and honorary membership in Sigma Theta Tau Rho Chapter, nursing’s national honor society. Besides the three American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Awards, he was bestowed the Joseph Coolidge Shaw, S.J. Medal from the President of Boston College for his research on the image of the nurse in 1985. He is listed in the biographical reference directories of Who’s Who in America; Men of Achievement; Directory of American Scholars; Who’s Who in the Midwest; Dictionary of International Biography; and the International Who’s Who of Contemporary Achievement.

Over his 36-year career with the University of Michigan, Dr. Kalisch taught all levels of nursing students in subjects such as economics, health policy history, and politics. He was a highly sought-after speaker at national and international conferences and for consultation with hospital and health systems for strategic planning and problem solving around such topics as hospital-patient transport systems and nurse recruitment and retention. He conducted numerous research studies for the U.S. Department of Labor such as evaluation of job performance of 8,000 foreign nurses in New York City hospitals.

The thousands of citations quickly evidence the significance of the work of Philip Kalisch and Beatrice Kalisch. Although their history of nursing text is foundational to history of nursing curriculums, it is their work on the image of nursing starting in 1977 with a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-supported study on the “Image of the Nurse in the Mass Media” that will likely be their most legendary work. It has been noted that this detailed gathering of nurse images, categorized by different areas of media including newspaper, magazines, novels, motion pictures and television news and entertainment, has led to the most comprehensive social-historical perspective on how the public views nurses.

Dr. Kalisch is survived by his wife Alla Kalisch, stepson Dmytro Pshevorskyi, and his children, Phillip and Melanie Kalisch.

Additional information regarding Dr. Kalisch’s career can be found at
www.nursing.umich.edu/faculty/kalisch_phil.html (faculty profile) and
www.nursingadvocacy.org/research/lit/kalisch_kalisch.html (sampling of his work on nursing’s public image and the nurse shortage).

Memories of Dr. Kalisch may be shared at
obits.mlive.com/obituaries/annarbor/obituary.aspx?n=philip-arthur-kalisch&pid=143161571.

Memorial contributions honoring Dr. Kalisch may be directed to the University of Michigan School of Nursing to fund a Nursing Leadership Lectureship.

Contributions may be made on-line at
https://www.kintera.org/site/c.kwKTJdNVJrF/b.4340155/k.872E/Give_Online/apps/s/custom.asp?msource=ucCode:mog.  Contributions can also be sent via mail to:

For additional information regarding memorial contributions, please contact the Office of Development and External Relations at 734.763.9710

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