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Florence Nightingale sits on a couch smiling in multiple layers of clothingProfiles In NursingFlorence Nightingale (1820–1910), Mathematician and Social ReformerThe founder of modern nursing spoke six languages, designed hospitals, and chastised the English government for their colonial rule of IndiaEvery nurse learns the basics about Florence Nightingale: She was a wealthy woman who, despite the gender strictures of her era, turned British healthcare on its head. Rather than leading a...
Mildred Dalton wearing a military uniform and hat, sits smiling towards the cameraProfiles In NursingMildred Dalton Manning (1914-2013), WWII POW and the “Last Angel”She joined the Army to see the worldSeventy-six years ago, American military nurses in the Philippines became prisoners of war. The last known survivor of these “Angels of Bataan and Corregidor” was former U.S. Army Nurse...
Three nurses in military uniforms stand around a sign that states "Nurses Quarters"FeatureAngels in Hell: The Nurse POWs of Bataan and CorregidorThe surrender of U.S. forces in the Philippines was only the beginning of the ordeal for these brave nursesFor most Americans, the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, was a shocking event to hear about on the radio or in the newspapers. For American...
Mother Angela in a habit sits stoically looking at the cameraProfiles In NursingMother Mary of St. Angela (1824-1887), Civil War Hospital AdministratorMother Angela stepped up to care for Union soldiers during the Civil WarMany people dedicate their lives to an ideal larger than themselves. Few do it with the intensity and competence of Eliza Marie Gillespie, better known as Mother Mary of St. Angela or just...
The Columbia building in Los Angeles - an old beige building with columnsProfiles In NursingMary Marvin Wayland (?-1946), Pioneer of Evidence-Based Nursing PracticeStandards of care once depended on where a nurse workedPhoto above: Columbia hospital on Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles, where Mary Marvin began her career as a nurse in the 1920s. Evidence-based practice is such a fundamental part...

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Different polaroid photos sit on top of each other depicting nurses in different uniforms, shows, and capsFeatureNursing Uniforms Through HistoryToday’s scrubs are a long way from the starched gowns and white caps of earlier erasModern scrubs are practical, cheap and easy to care for, but there was something elegant about the nursing uniforms of ages past: long, floor-sweeping skirts; beautifully crisp aprons; neat...
The Medical-Surgical Nursing textbook cover on the left, and a photo of Lillian Bruner smiling on the rightProfiles In NursingLillian Brunner (1918-2016), Author of the “Brunner Bible” TextbookNursing students remember their Brunner BibleDo you remember your “Brunner Bible”? Perhaps you still reflect fondly on its value as a sleep aid or as part of your strength-training regimen. Maybe you still refer back to this...
Groups of people in a concentration camp are behind barbed wire fencing and wearing striped uniformsProfiles In NursingMaria Stromberger (1898–1957) – Austrian Nurse Who Risked Her Life to Aid Auschwitz PrisonersShe risked her life to ease suffering, then after the war testified against the Nazi guardsMoments of crisis can challenge the courage and ethics of any nurse, but we may all pray that our strength of character never faces the kind of tests Austrian nurse Maria Stromberger endured...
Illustration of the Centaur hospital ship sinking with people swimming around it. On the right, there is a photo of Ellen Savage in a dress and cap smilingProfiles In NursingEllen Savage (1912-1985), Australian Nurse Who Rallied a Nation at WarShe survived the sinking of a hospital ship during WW2Even if you practice for decades, your entire career may be defined by only a few moments. For Australia’s Ellen Savage, it was the three minutes it took for the Australian hospital ship...
Nathalie Bucknall is looking at the camera while holding papers in her right handProfiles In NursingNathalie Bucknall (1895–1959), Russian Nurse, Spy, and Hollywood Movie ExecutiveFrom the "Women's Battalion of Death" to WWII espionage to MGM Studios — this nurse led a life of adventureIn this era of credentials and degrees, we sometimes forget that throughout much of history, nursing was a more informal, transitory occupation. Often, particularly during wartime, the...