Though her father died when she was young and she grew up poor, Werley was able to complete a diploma from the Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing in 1940.
She joined the Army Nurse Corps the following year and served in the Mediterranean during World War II.
She returned to an active military duty and completed a graduate degree in nursing administration in 1951.
[1] Werley was named a Charter Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1973; she was designated a Living Legend by the organization in 1994.
[5] The American Medical Informatics Association also confers a Harriet H. Werley Award to a nurse-authored paper at its annual symposium.