Transcript of interview with Ethelda Thelan by Deloris Middlebrook, August 20, 2004

Ethelda Thelan takes a detailed look back at her long career in public nursing, starting with her education at University of California San Francisco. She came to Nevada in June of 1951, after working at the school of nursing in Charlottesville, Virginia. After two years at the Washoe Medical Center in northern Nevada, Ethelda became a staff public health nurse at Washoe County Health Department and eventually joined the Nevada Nurses Association (1955). She mentions many doctors and nurses with whom she worked in both northern and southern Nevada, and details responsibilities and actions taken by her and others for both public health and continuing education for nurses. Ethelda offers up memories of early Las Vegas, opinions on how Las Vegans felt about atomic testing at the Test Site, her varied work history, and her continuing education business. She also suggests other sources for researching information about the medical profession in Nevada.