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On the left is the movie poster for Love And War and on the right is a photo of the female lead dressed in black looking out over a balconyMovie & TV Nurses“In Love and War” Movie ReviewA WWI biopic about American nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky and a young Ernest HemingwayIn Love and War is a 1996 film based on the real-life romance between a young Ernest Hemingway and Agnes Von Kurowsky, the nurse who treated him after he was wounded during the First World...
Agnes Von Kurowsky in nursing attire smiles at Ernest Hemingway in a military uniformProfiles In NursingAgnes Von Kurowsky (1892–1984), Literary MuseThe nurse who inspired Ernest HemingwayNurses sometimes leave a lasting impression on their patients, but seldom one as literary as Agnes Von Kurowsky, the Red Cross nurse who inspired a central character in Ernest Hemingway’s...
Clara Maass in a dress and hair up is looking at the camera. On the right there is a photo of a mosquito and below that, a hospital ward with patient bedsProfiles In NursingClara Maass (1876–1901), Nurse Martyr in the Battle Against Yellow FeverShe gave her life in pursuit of a cureMore than a century ago, Clara Maass, the first nurse to have an American medical center named after her, gave her life in the battle against a terrifying infectious disease: yellow fever....
Colleen McMurphy stands in green Army uniform next to a DVD copy of China BeachNurses OnscreenBinge-Watching “China Beach”What I learned from the highly acclaimed TV series about Army nurses in Vietnam“China Beach” is a network television drama that ran on ABC for four seasons, l988–1991, decades after the Vietnam War during which the show is set. The series told the story of...
Three photos of nurses in wartime. One is looking out of a vehicle, with a uniform and helmet on, the next is three nurses smiling in military uniforms, the third is a nurse smiling at a desk.FeatureIn Country: U.S. Nurses During the Vietnam WarYoung recruits were promised romance and adventure. The reality was far different. The nurses who served in the Vietnam War are among the least recognized of American military veterans. Many films and TV programs about U.S. involvement in Vietnam do not depict a single...

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Nurse Kate Marsden on the left in a button up. On the right, she is covered in a head piece and with a long gown on in SiberiaProfiles In NursingKate Marsden (1859-1931), English Nurse Who Crusaded Against LeprosyAn 11,000-mile trek across Siberia and a persistent scandalIn 1891, English nurse Kate Marsden made a grueling 11,000-mile trek across Siberia in search of a rare herb purported to cure leprosy. She survived this perilous adventure only to find...
Mary Mahoney on the left in a dress and cap. On the right, a picture of a large houseProfiles In NursingMary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926), America’s First Professionally Trained Black NurseThe daughter of enslaved people, Mahoney distinguished herself as a nurseThis Boston-born nurse was a true pioneer: The first Black woman in the U.S. ever to earn a professional nursing degree. A Country Torn by Slavery When Mary Eliza Mahoney was born in 1845,...
Absalom Jones and Richard Allen have their portraits on the left, and then there is a picture of a police officer knocking on someone's doorFeatureBlack Nurses and the 1793 Philadelphia Yellow Fever EpidemicA tale of a deadly outbreak, inflammatory propaganda and heroismIn 1793, Philadelphia was as large and as cosmopolitan a city as could be found in the new United States. Until 1800, Philadelphia served as the U.S. capital. The city was also home to a...
Sister Kenny wearing a habit looking away from the cameraProfiles In NursingSister Elizabeth Kenny (1880-1952), Controversial Australian Polio Treatment ReformerWas this controversial Australian nurse a hero or a hoax?To her admirers, “Sister Kenny” was a crusader, challenging a reactionary medical establishment’s preconceptions about one of her era’s most feared diseases. To many physicians, she...
An illustration of the electrical bassinet on the left, and the stainless steel picture of one on the rightProfiles In NursingEvelyn Lundeen (1900-1963), Neonatal Nurse Who Redefined Premature Infant CareSetting the standards for neonatology careWhen Evelyn Lundeen began the job that would become her life’s work, neonatology as we know it was barely practiced in the U.S. When Evelyn Lundeen began the job that would become her...