If you had been born in a different era, would you have wanted to be a nurse? Think about what your daily routine might have been. In 1850 to 1950, you would have spent your time sterilizing equipment and administering leeches. In the middle of the century, you would have been at the patient’s bedside often, but you still may have sharpened needles two days a week. As recently as the ’80s, you wouldn’t have known what a personal computer was, let alone used one to access information.
There’s no doubt that nursing roles have changed dramatically throughout the 20th century, and for the better, according to many nurse historians. Here are some of the highlights in the evolution of contemporary nursing (Reverby, 1987).
In the early 20th century, most nurses received their education from hospitals, not colleges or universities. While earning diplomas at hospital-based schools, student nurses provided the facility with two to three years of cheap and abundant labor, typically working 10- to 12-hour shifts seven days a week, with only a few hours dedicated to classroom instruction. Historians describe early clinical training programs as rigorous and exhausting (Dolan, Fitzpatrick, Herrmann, 1983).
A new nursing student, known as a probationer, often began working primarily as a maid—dusting, scrubbing, and washing dishes—under the scrutiny of a superintendent. Above all, the probationer adhered to a code of etiquette that required utter deference to physicians and supervisors. If she passed muster, the student could expect to move on to more patient-oriented duties (Reverby, 1987).
"Every nurse in our School has from four to six weeks’ training in operating room work alone," wrote a probationer in 1899 at the Orange Training School for Nurses in New Jersey. "During this time she has to make up and keep on hand thousands....
