Typically when we think about nurses today, we think about individuals working within a hospital or medical office setting. Others even work in nursing homes and provide home care to their patients. We think of them in their scrubs and as a very sanitized person. However, the roles of nurses have changed throughout the various times in our history. Just as we have continued to change, so has the field of nursing. This article will look at famous nurses throughout history. In a time of war these individuals were trust in the position of saving lives in complete chaos. For them schooling and supplies may have been limited and sanitation a lesser concern but they still fought tirelessly to save lives.
During one of the darkest periods of our country many only knew Mary Todd Lincoln as the wife of President Abraham Lincoln. However, many would be surprised to learn that as the gruesome battle between brothers raged on, Mary was also out tending to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War.
Another American nurse figure throughout the Civil War was Clara Barton. Clara became a nurse at a very young age after she watched over her brother after he was injured while working in a barn. Through her efforts she carried supplies to the soldiers on the battlefield and cared after them right on the front lines. Due to her efforts, we now have the Red Cross.
Perhaps one of the most surprising nurses during the Civil War was the poet, Walt Whitman. Walt volunteered during the Civil War and worked with the soldiers in the Army hospitals. It is believed that his time served helping the soldiers is what led to some of his works.
After defying her family's societal rankings, one of the most famous nurses in our history followed her true calling. Florence Nightingale gave up her life to help those around her as she felt it was her calling from god. Florence focused on those who suffered from poverty and even traveled to different countries to lend her aide. Florence was also known for her efforts to reform the British military health system.
While working as a nurse in Europe during the First World War, Helen Fairchild would later become famous. Her letters home provided historians a glimpse of what was going on during the war. American born, she would only be a nurse for a few years because of an illness that took over her.
One woman who helped both sides of a war was Edith Cavell. At a time when the world was at war for the second time and everyone was questioning allegiance, she tended to the wounded no matter which side they fought for. Since she did help Allied soldiers escape she was court-marshalled and then later executed.
Hazel W. Johnson- Brown became the first African American General in history. Before she became a general she served as Chief in the Army Nurse Corps and also Dean of the Walter Reed Army Institute School of Nursing.
These are a few of the women that changed the face of nursing during a time of chaos for those that surrounded them.
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