CRIMEAN WARWhen the Crimean War broke out, war
correspondents wrote about the abominable manner in which the British Army
cared for the sick and wounded soldiers. Florence Nightingale, by then a
recognized authority on hospital care, wrote to her friend Sir Sidney
Herbert, who was then secretary of war, and offered to take a group of 38
nurses to the Crimea. At the same time he had written a letter requesting
assistance in resolving this national crisis. Nightingale received the Order
of Merit from the Queen of England in 1907.
THE CIVIL WAR
The Civil War broke out in the United States in 1861.
Nursing was till in an embryonic, unorganized stage. Women volunteered to
help, and after a brief training course, they performed nursing duties.
Dorothea Dix was appointed superintendent of women nurses for the Union
Army. Clara Barton was instrumental in founding the American Red Cross in
1882. African nurses, such as Harriet Tubman and Susie Taylor carried out
nursing duties for the Union army while supporting anti-slavery activities
for the blacks. The conditions exposed during the civil war coupled with the
popularity of Florence Nightingale in England provided the impetus necessary
to heighten the interest in nursing education in the United States.
WORLD WAR I
The Vassar Training Camp was developed in response to the
nursing shortage resulting from World War I. The Vassar Training Camp
offered a preparatory course in nursing from which students would then move
into school of nursing. The Army School of Nursing was also established.
Mary Breckinridge worked with the American Committee of Devastated France in
1918 distributing food. clothing, and supplies to rural villages in France
and taking care of sick children. In 1921, Breckinridge returned to the
United States with plans to provide health care to the people of rural
America. Breckinridge began one of the first midwifery training schools in
the U.S. The general trend of nursing of the late 1800's to the end of World
War I was rapid expansion in the establishment of hospitals, with nursing
schools dependent on them for support. Hospitals in turn depended on the
schools to carry the chief nursing load.
WORLD WAR II
The Balton Act established the Cadet Nurse Corps. This
was an important influence since the federal government subsidized nursing
education for school and students. Associate degree programs in nursing were
suggested in 1951 by Mildred L. Montag as a solution to the acute shortage
of nurses that came about because of World War II. Although the ADN programs
relieved the post-World War II nursing shortage, the utilization of ADN
graduates in hospital practice did not fulfill Montag's original intent; ADN
and BSN graduates were often used interchangeably. In an effort to resolve
this discrepancy, differentiated company statements were developed. During
World War II it became acceptable for married women to continue working.
Women nurses were valued members of the armed forces and attained elevated
status by becoming officers in the military. Wanting to be of service to a
country at war, women who might never have considered nursing because of its
previous status now entered the profession. There was a dramatic increase in
the number of hospitals. |
