The nurses of the past have had a tremendous impact on the world. They have save millions of lives and comforted billions more.

One of the nurses who had a big impact on the nursing career in America was Mary Eliza Mahoney. Mahoney was the first professional black nurse in America.

Born on May 7, 1845, she was the oldest of three children. When she was 18 she decided that she wanted to be a nurse. At the time she was working in the New England Hospital for Women and Children.

When she was turned 33 in 1878, she began to train as a nurse at the Cialis New England Hospital. This was the most rigorous and thorough training school available for nurses at the time.

Under the direction of Dr. Marie Zakrzewska, who was also one of the first women doctors in the United States, Mahoney worked hard and completed the extremely difficult and taxing courses. This school offered a sixteen-month program.

During these sixteen months, Mahoney worked on medical, maternity, and surgical wards. She also was assigned private duty in specific patients’ homes.

In the beginning, Mahoney started classes with 39 other students. By the end, only four students had made it to graduation.

On August 1, 1879 Mahoney received her nursing diploma was officially the first black woman nurse.
She also became well known through her efforts to organize the black women for events and protests.

Right after graduation, Mahoney sought work as a private-duty nurse. The families who hired her spoke of her calm ways, quiet efficiency, and professionalism with much praise.

Her skill was spoken of widely across the nation. She received requests for her services from New Jersey, Washington D.C. and North Carolina.

Another nurse that had great influence on North America was Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke. By the end of her career, she was called “Mother” Bickerdyke by people all over the world.

Once she was asked to take supplies to a hospital in Cairo, Illinois. After the several hour walk to arrive at the hospital she was mortified by what she saw.

The hospital was absolutely disgusting. This was the beginning of her campaign to clean up the hospitals in Cairo and on the battlefields.

It is said that she had the habit of walking through the battlefields after sunset looking for wounded soldiers who may have been overlooked. Later, General Ulysses S. Grant asked her to join the campaign in Atlanta as a volunteer in the hospitals.

She volunteered, but promptly offended the hospital staffs that she was assigned to work with because her standards for cleanliness were not being upheld. However, the soldiers loved her.

Another high spirited nurse that served on the battle field was Mary Jane Safford. Safford’s physical appearance may have been small and fragile, but she was far from timid.

She also adopted the habit of looking Brand Levitra for the wounded after sunset. Her work centered in Belmont, Missouri and Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

Later, she was assigned to work on the Union ship “of the city of Memphis.” She made five trips before she collapsed from exhaustion.

As the Civil War drew to a close, Mary Ann Safford began to study medicine. Through her studies she became one of the first female surgeons in the United States.

Perhaps one of the most well known nurses of this time period was Clara Barton. Clara Barton is well known throughout the world as the founder of the American Red Cross.

Barton began her nursing career by gathering food and supplies from the friends and families of soldiers who were wounded. When they arrived at Washington DC after a bloody battle, she would give them these supplies.

This was the beginning of a new service for the wounded. She realized that the wounded were in desperate need of supplies.

She was mainly responsible for supplying the surgeons after the Battle of Cedar Mountain in Virginia with bandages and dressings after the hospital ran out of supplies. She was often referred to as the “angel of the battlefield” because she would take food and water to the men who were wounded on the battlefield.

This name has lived on with her throughout the decades since. The impact of these nurses revolutionized the nursing career and the values that this career embraces.

We see the lasting impacts they have had in the career of nursing we see today. Their compassion, sacrifice, and service has saved thousands of lives as well as brought solace and comfort to millions of others.

Author Bio: Tom Selwick has worked as a traveling nurse for the last 16 years. He has worked in many local clinics and the ER and recommends looking into becoming a travel nurse.

Contact Info:
Tom Selwick
TomSelwick09@gmail.com
http://www.professionalnurse.com

Category: Health/Meditation
Keywords: travel nurse