History of American Nursing Since 19th Century

Topic: Nursing
Words: 287 Pages: 1

Nurses assist patients and their communities in coping with disease, responding to it, and, if required, living with it so that they may continue to live their lifestyles. Nurses are responsible not only for individual treatment, but they also have long been at the center of wellness and public-health reform. Florence Nightingale had a tremendous effect on medical care, nursing, and nursing practice, and she developed training courses (Judd, 2013). The period of the XIX century was marked by hard times of martial law and fighting, such as the American Civil War. It was during this period that special importance was attached to nurses, who, despite difficulties, including lack of provision and internal discrimination, provided all possible assistance to people, notably wounded soldiers.

Concerning the exploration of the contributions of one XIX century nurse related to leadership and provision of care, it is feasible to emphasize the practice of “Mother” Mary Ann Bickerdyke. She received the title of “Mother” as an uneducated nurse who served for the Union Army during the Civil War and provided excellent treatment and care for the wounded soldiers and civilians (Judd, 2013). As during the American Civil War, Mary Ann Bickerdyke, commonly referred to as Mother Bickerdyke, was a hospital supervisor for Union forces and a lifetime activist for veterans. She worked with General Ulysses S. Grant’s western forces as an administrator and head of nursing, hospital, and social programs. She offered to accompany and disseminate a collection of materials overtaken for the relief of injured warriors at a temporary army hospital in Illinois shortly after the Civil War commencement. Moreover, Bickerdyke had devoted herself to the wounded and severely ill by scavenging equipment and materials and establishing transportable laundries and kitchens.

Reference

Judd, D. (2013). A History of American Nursing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.