 Abdellah was a professor of nursing arts, pharmacology, and medical nursing at the Yale University School of Nursing from 1945 until 1949.From 1950 until 1954 she served in active duty during the Korean War, where she earned a distinguished ranking equivalent to a Navy Rear Admiral, making her the highest ranked woman and nurse in the Federal Nursing Services at the time.Following the war, she served as a visiting professor at the University of Washington; the University of Colorado, Boulder; and the University of Minnesota.