The Nursing Profession and Important Women in Medicine.

1. The Nursing Profession and Important Women in Medicine. By Mr Day Downloaded from SchoolHistory.co.uk

2. Lesson Objectives • To understand why and how the nursing profession developed and the contribution of women. • To focus on the role of Florence Nightingale.

3. Nursing • Nursing emerged as a profession in the late 19th century. Before this time, nursing did not require any training, was badly paid and did not have a respectable reputation. • Florence Nightingale was instrumental in bringing about this change. In 1860, Nightingale set up the first nurses' training school at St. Thomas's Hospital; this became the foundation of most nursing programmes within the Western world.

4. Key Facts: • In the1800s Elizabeth Fry set up the Institute of Nursing Sisters to train nurses • Some of the of the earliest nurses were nuns; the Sisters of Mercy was set up in Dublin in 1830 to care for the sick • In 1860 Florence Nightingale set up the first nurses training school at St. Thomas's Hospital.

5. How did the Crimean War improve conditions in hospitals? • The Crimean War was fought by Britain between 1854-56. • At the hospital soldiers were left lying on bare floors; there were no supplies of any kind and they had no more than one meal a day, if that. there were no lavatories or sanitation and no nurses or bandages. Men were left to die in great pain without any medical attention. • Florence Nightingale enforced rules on cleanliness, introduced special diets, improved the water supply and made sure there was enough food and gave the men proper nursing care. Two years after her arrival, the death rate at the hospital was two per cent. It had been 40 per cent when she arrived.

6. Barrack Hospital, Istanbul. • Florence Nightingale's big opportunity came when the Secretary at War, who knew the family, asked her to go to the Crimea to take charge of the hospital at Scutari in Turkey.

7. A Nightingale Ward

8. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) • Florence Nightingale was born in Italy to wealthy English parents. • Florence Nightingale's big opportunity came when the Crimean War broke out in 1854. the British Army suffered horrific losses from the new exploding shells and from lack of medical support. • The Secretary at War, who knew the Nightingale family, asked her to go to the Crimea to take charge of the hospital at Scutari in Turkey.

9. How did she change medicine? • Florence Nightingale used her reputation gained during the Crimean War to improve standards in nursing back at home. • The public donated £44,000 to set up a nursing school, at St Thomas' Hospital, London. • By 1887 Nightingale's nurses were working in Australia, Canada, India, Sri Lanka, Germany, Sweden and the USA. their standards helped to turn nursing into a respected profession. Nightingale also helped to reform the army medical service and the way in which hospitals were run.

10. Mary Seacole 1805 - 1881 • Another nurse, Mary Seacole, also went to the Crimea and at her own expense set up a medical store and hostel near Balaclava and also nursed the wounded on the battlefield, but, in spite of her popularity with soldiers, was not invited to join Florence Nightingale. • Many historians believe the work of Mary Seacole has been largely ignored because she was a black woman, working at a time of great prejudice.

11. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) • Applied to British universities to train as a doctor, but was turned down in every case. Undeterred, she went to France and received the M.D. degree from the University of Paris in 1870. She returned to London and set up practice. • Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first British woman to qualify as a doctor. In 1874 she established the London School of Medicine for Women. Her determination paved the way for other women. In 1876 an Act of Parliament was passed which permitted women to enter all of the medical professions. • Even today one of the leading hospitals for women in London is named after Anderson as a tribute to her part in breaking down prejudice in the medical profession.