The Role Of Nurses During World War One
While in service, nurses carried out several critical functions outside the usual realm of nursing. Their presence served not only as a strong medical force but also as a source of emotional care and an all-hands-on-deck approach to fighting the fight. Nurses treated patients near or just behind the front lines at field hospitals or evacuation stations—even in churches that were turned into hospitals. They could be found at base stations, which were generally far removed from battle; however, they also served in troop transports and transport ships. Some nurses even drove ambulances. These nurses treated numerous types of wounds, as well as infections and gas burns. Some were trained in social work, including psychiatric training, in order
…show more content…
In one nurse wrote in her journal, “One very quiet man told me swearing was not his habit but he swore as much as any man when shells were coming over. ‘It helps one to bear it quite wonderfully,’ he said.” The woman on the medical front lines got an inside look at the perils of the war and witnessed first-hand the impact of this global conflict.
The nurses of WWI provided care beyond their original call of duty. Their contribution to the front lines, and at home, helped shape the unity and strength our country gained during the …show more content…
hospitals reached a crisis point. In response, Congress issued a program provided by a government subsidy for nursing education. In return for their education, nurses had to promise to serve in the essential military or civilian nursing for the duration of the war. During their last six months of training, they were assigned to home front facilities of the army, navy, Veterans Administration, Public Health Service, and to civilian hospitals.
The civilian nurses who volunteered for the Army Nurse Corps had no previous military experience and therefore no knowledge of army methods and protocol; they had no training in battlefield conditions either. However, in May the army finally established a training course for all new army nurses. During an intensive, four-week period at fifteen U.S. training centers, nurses learned how to follow army rules, how to cope with an attack, and how to requisition supplies.
Disregard & Gender
In one nurse wrote in her journal, “One very quiet man told me swearing was not his habit but he swore as much as any man when shells were coming over. ‘It helps one to bear it quite wonderfully,’ he said.” The woman on the medical front lines got an inside look at the perils of the war and witnessed first-hand the impact of this global conflict.
The nurses of WWI provided care beyond their original call of duty. Their contribution to the front lines, and at home, helped shape the unity and strength our country gained during the …show more content…
hospitals reached a crisis point. In response, Congress issued a program provided by a government subsidy for nursing education. In return for their education, nurses had to promise to serve in the essential military or civilian nursing for the duration of the war. During their last six months of training, they were assigned to home front facilities of the army, navy, Veterans Administration, Public Health Service, and to civilian hospitals.
The civilian nurses who volunteered for the Army Nurse Corps had no previous military experience and therefore no knowledge of army methods and protocol; they had no training in battlefield conditions either. However, in May the army finally established a training course for all new army nurses. During an intensive, four-week period at fifteen U.S. training centers, nurses learned how to follow army rules, how to cope with an attack, and how to requisition supplies.
Disregard & Gender