Nursing
It's more than a career, it's a passion to help others
By: Kelsie Wells
The History of Nursing
"There was a time that nursing duties fell to nuns, or -- during wars -- to the military. Before the end of the 19th century, most nurses didn't have any formal training -- and many lacked any education at all. Nurses were typically women who provided the sick, injured and wounded with comfort, but not necessarily good -- or any -- medical care. It wasn't until the extraordinary women and men on our list advocated for change and pioneered a path for nurses from bedpan to bachelor's degree that the seeds of modern nursing were born."
Some of the Best Experts
Mary Breckinridge
"In 1925, Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS), a team of nurse-midwives devoted to bringing general and maternal care (including prenatal and postnatal care) to people living in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky. The FNS nurses traveled by horseback to deliver babies and provide family care, accepting little money (or barter) as payment."
Mary Ezra Mahoney
"Mary Ezra Mahoney was the first African-American woman to complete nursing training and become a registered nurse. Mahoney worked at the New England Hospital for Women and Children before she was accepted to the hospital's nursing school at the age of 33. Out of 42 candidates, only four graduated; Mahoney was one of those four. In the face of discrimination against black nurses, Mahoney advocated for the rights of all black nurses and went on to co-found the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in 1908."
Lillian Wald
"Nurse Lillian Wald taught a class about at-home nursing and good hygiene to immigrant women on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the 1890s. After witnessing first-hand the unsanitary conditions and lack of adequate medical care in the tenement neighborhood, Wald was moved to found the Visiting Nurse Service. Two years later in 1895, with government and financial support, she moved the Visiting Nurse Service of New York into a larger building, founding the Henry Street Settlement House -- a community center offering comprehensive assistance services to people in need. As a result, Wald and her nursing staff became the first public health nurses in the United States."