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White nursing cap with frills on the base, lays on top of a black counterFeatureWhatever Became of Nursing Caps?Frilly or starched, they were once icons of the professionAsk a working nurse today about nursing caps and she will probably tell you about the oversized paper bonnet that covers the hair during surgical procedures and is tossed out after a single...
Illustration of a woman helping a patient in bed on the left and then two people talking in a bedroom on the rightProfiles In NursingAnn Bradford Stokes (1830–1903), From Civil War “Contraband” to U.S. Navy PensionerAfter escaping the plantation where she was enslaved, Stokes boarded a Union hospital ship and volunteered to become a Navy nurse.After escaping the plantation where she was enslaved, Ann Bradford Stokes boarded a Union hospital ship and volunteered to become a Navy nurse. Later, she became the first woman in U.S. Navy...
Nursing Book ClubThe Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women — and Women to Medicine by Janice P NimuraWe've come so farIt’s interesting to wonder what really motivates people, especially important historical figures. In her new book, The Doctors Blackwell, author Janice P. Nimura delves into the lives of...
Virginia Henderson in black and white is smiling away from the cameraProfiles In NursingVirginia A. Henderson (1897–1996), Wrote the Book on Modern NursingThe 20th century’s answer to Florence NightingaleNursing care is more than performing a series of tasks — it is a holistic focus on restoring a patient’s health and independence. This once-revolutionary concept is just one of the core...
Louisa May Alcott on the left smiling in uniform, and on the right she is on a USA stampProfiles In NursingLouisa May Alcott (1832–1888), From “Hospital Sketches” to “Little Women”A beloved writer, she was also a Civil War nurse, staunch abolitionist and suffragetteBefore achieving fame for her literary accomplishments, Little Women author Louisa May Alcott served as a nurse during the Civil War. Although ill health forced her into premature retirement,...

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Old photo of Alice Magaw on the left, and a bottle of anesthesia medication on the rightFeature130 Years of Anesthesia NursingThe origins and rocky history of nursing’s most controversial specialtyThe nurses who provide anesthesia to surgical, obstetrical and pain management patients today follow in the footsteps of some of the most outspoken and technically adept members of the...
Julia Stimson in uniform with officers around her and on the right a photo of her straight-faced in a uniformProfiles In NursingCol. Julia Stimson (1881–1948), Army Nurse Corps SuperintendentA decorated officer, she led 20,000 nurses during WWIOnce the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. Armed Forces, Julia Catherine Stimson, RN, served her country as a nurse, a social worker and a leader — including an 18-year tenure as...
Martha Ballard is delivering a baby while a husband holds his wife on a chair, and two women hold each of the woman's armsProfiles In NursingMartha Ballard (1735-1812), Colonial Midwife and DiaristHer remarkable diary reveals a legacy of nursing in 18th century AmericaShe lived and died before Florence Nightingale was even born, but Martha Ballard’s diary still survives, providing us with a remarkable record of the lives of pioneer women and the practice...
A group of female nurses in dresses and caps are smoking togetherFeatureWhen Nurses Smoked in HospitalsIn years past, there was an ashtray on every patient nightstand, nurses lit up in break rooms, and doctors and nurses were featured in cigarette adsAn attractive young woman in a crisp, white vintage nurse’s uniform and cap smiles up at the reader, dangling a lit cigarette between her fingers. Printed above her is a boldface slogan:...
On the left, a photo of the characters from ER holding each other, the middle is on a couple getting married with a rose on top of the photo, and the third is a couple sitting in a hospital bed holding each otherFeatureHospital RomanceIn pop culture, nurses find love, marriage and passion at work. Here is the real story.SCENE: After resuscitating a car crash victim, handsome doctor Doug Ross (George Clooney) and attractive head nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) embrace — and soon find themselves...