Australian and American Female Nurses in the Armed Forces To what extent were Australian and American female nurses treated as professionals in the armed forces? "We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and not to a partnership of privilege and right?" U.S President Wilson, September 1918 My research for this essay showed that although there were similarities between American and Australian attitudes towards female nurses serving in their armed forces, some elements of the American War Department were more reluctant in allowing female nurses to serve as part of the armed forces in World War One. The different types of sources consulted were useful for different purposes. For example, the Australian Defence Department website (See Web Reference 3) although very detailed, suffers the expected bias due to it being written and published by the nursing corps of the current Australian Army. I also discovered that it was essential to distinguish between different parts of the armed forces because in some instances, like the case of the US War Department and the US Army, they had conflicting views on female nurses serving in World War One. This essay shows that there was a temporary marked change in each country towards the attitude of female nurses participating in the armed forces as the war progressed. However, after the conclusion of World War One, whilst they had earned respect for the nursing profession, their contribution was still not enough to admit them into the armed forces on a permanent basis. The establishment of the Australian Army Nursing Service in New South Wales in 1898 (Adam-Smith, 1984, 16), and in America the creation... ... middle of paper ... ...World War One was still not enough in proving that women nurses were capable of serving as a permanent part of the armed forces. (See Web Reference 5) Works Cited: 1. http://www.anzacday.org.au/hidtory/ww1/overview/nurses.html 2. http://www.awm.gov.au/1918/medical/nurses.htm 3. http://www.defence.gov.au/dpe/dhs/main/infocentre/history/army/raanc.htm 4. http://www.skp.com.au/memorials/00010.htm 5. http://bss.sfsu.edu.tygiel/Hist427/paddison.htm 6. Bullough, V.L & Sentz, L. American Nursing, a biographical dictionary. Vol I. 2000, Springer, New York 7. Barker, M. Nightingales in the Mud: The Digger Sisters of The Great War 1914-1918, 1989, Allen and Unwin, Sydney 8. Cohen, I.B. Florence Nightingale, 1997, Springer, New York 9. Cochrane, P "Australians at War" 10. Adam-Smith, P "Australian Women at War" 1984, Thomas Nelson Australia, Hong Kong
Senior Officers were more inclined to have trained male soldiers in preference to female nurses. Major General Howse (Director of Medical Services) has been quoted as saying that “the female nurse (as a substitute for the fully trained male nursing orderly) did little toward the actual saving of life in war... although she might promote a more rapid and complete recovery”. General Howse was speaking at a time when the contribution of the Nursing Service to the treatment of the wounded soldiers, at an early stage, had yet to be recognized by the Australian authorities.
Furthermore, as war led to an increase in the number of injured men, there was a shortage of nurses, and women swarmed into medical universities to receive their educations so they could serve as nurses. In his “Universities, medical education, and women,” Watts states that when it was observed that women could “join the popular and increasing band of professional nurses. women were striving to gain university admission” (Watts 307).
During the time of the American Civil War, the recruitment for nurses was in high demand. “War time activities provided opportunities for nurses to be intimately involved in the health and humanitarian care of soldiers, civilians and/or the enemy” (Judd, 3).
Diabetes develops when the body can't efficiently produce or use insulin made by the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that lets cells change glucose into fuel. When glucose accumulates in the blood in large amounts, it means that cells aren't getting the fuel they need. Gestational diabetes (GD) is a type of diabetes that can develop in a pregnant woman who did not necessarily have diabetes before becoming pregnant. This condition is caused by changes in a pregnant woman’s metabolism and hormone production where the body does not produce enough insulin to deal with the increased blood sugar of pregnancy. Symptoms of GD can include excessive thirst, more frequent urination, vaginal infections, and high blood pressure. GD almost always disappears once the baby is born and is usually not an indicator of the child developing diabetes later in life.
During the mid-twentieth century American’s view of nurses was drastically changing according to Judd & Sitzman the authors of “A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras.” Prior to this time period the job of a nurse was not something that was very valued. The women who chose this work were not looked upon as highly as they are today. Judd & Sitzman write that during this time “nurses were respected, revered, and deemed professionals; they were portrayed in recruitment posters.” Nursing was now a profession women could actually seek to do outside of the home that was not frowned upon. Nursing was now being viewed as a valued profession. The mere fact that there were recruitment posters being created and displayed proves this point.
Subsequently, women volunteered through national or local associations or by getting permission from a commanding officer (“Nursing”). In April 1861, Dorothea Dix assembled a collection of volunteer female nurses which staged a march on Washington, demanding that the government distinguish their desire to assist the Union’s wounded soldiers. She organized military hospitals for the care of all sick and wounded soldiers, aiding the head surgeons by supplying nurses and considerable means for the ease and aid of the suffering. After she recruited nurses; nursing was greatly improved and her nurses were taken care of under her supervision (Buhler-Wilkerson). During the Civil war, most nurses were women who took care of the ill and injured soldiers. Both male and female nurses have cared for the soldiers in every American war. The majority of nurses were recruited soldiers pressed into duty. Civil war nurses worked in hospitals, on the battlefield, and in their homes (Post). The first carnage of the war made it possible for nursing to become a professional occupation. The women who proved themselves as capable volunteers established nursing as an acceptable field of employment for women after the war. The contributions of the thousands of female nurses helped to alter the image of the professional nurse and changed American nursing from a male-dominated to a largely female profession (Woodworth). Clara Barton, one of the nurses who contributed to the Civil War, founded the American Red Cross, brought supplies and helped the battlefronts before formal relief organizations could take shape to administer such shipments (Buhler-Wilkerson). The religious orders given responded to the new opportunity for servicing the injured by sending t...
This research links to the question as it shows that the Australian army nurses endured challenging difficulties and problematic conditions which made their World War 1 experiences strenuous and distressing.
Between the 1950’s and 1980’s, women were not allowed to join the army in an operating capacity. Women were mainly designated to be cooks, nurses, and maids. Being a female from a minority group originating from Trinidad, my family would have been hesitant to let me join the military. Joining the army was a tough decision to make during this period. Women were limited to working as cooks and nurses in the military (Brooks, 2013). Women also faced many struggles in the military as they were secluded and at many occurrences mistreated. Women who wanted to join the military had to cut their hair short, adopt masculine names and bind their breasts with bandages. Coming from a minority population would also be a challenge due to the kind of racism
Pregnancy should be a time of happiness for women, but woman who have complicated pregnancies are faced with various problems that can make their pregnancy even stressful than it already is. One of the complications of pregnancy that women go through is Gestational Diabetes. Gestational Diabetes can occur in woman who are 24 and 28 weeks pregnant. It is a condition when women develops high levels of blood glucose. It has affected 18 percent of pregnant woman worldwide.( Healthline,2014).Women who are already diagnosed with diabetes think that they are at high risk for Gestational diabetes, but this could rarely be the case. The cause of this complication is still unknown but hormones can be the main factor in why it develops. When a woman is pregnant she produces more excessive hormones, In time the hormones may interfere with the action of insulin and without insulin working properly blood glucose levels are increased causing gestational diabetes(healthline,2014).
The images created by propaganda poster had a dramatic effected on convincing many women to choose nursing as a career and dedicate their efforts to serve their country by enlisting in the Red Cross and the United States military. “Over 350,000 American women volunteered to serve in the armed forces during World War II. More than 59,000 of those women were registered nurses, who volunteered to serve in the United States Army Nurse Corps” (Monahan and Greenlee pg.
The purpose of this essay is to explain and provide information concerning the bravery and trials our Nations World War II Nurses endured. During World War II the need for Army Nurses was so great that the Army Nurse Corps started allowing healthy willing women to join, and the United States Military found many uses for these eager ladies. The change in American society during World War II included more opportunities and a higher status for American Women Nurses with increasing educational advantages provided by the government. Complications with staffing and medical supplies during the bombings of Pearl Harbor, Schofield Hospital, and Hickam Field shows their ability to handle pressure and be useful in crisis situations. A new field training was then developed for all newly commissioned nurses, by Lt. Gen. Brehan B. Somervell the Commanding General of the Army Service Forces. December 1943 the existing and future demand of Army Nurses was decided that their were enough by the United States War Department, and all local volunteer committees were notified to stop recruiting by the Red Cross via telegram.
Although women historically have been the majority in the nursing workforce, the earliest record of male nurses known to perform nursing duties was between the fourth and fifth centuries. The first removal of men in nursing noted in the sixteenth century due to the destruction of many monastic institutions . In the mid-nineteenth century, Florence Nightingale initiated the idea of nursing as an exclusively woman’s profession. Nightingale believed only women had the capability to do nursing work because it was natural to them. Her vision caused the complete dissolution of male workforce in nursing . Only until 1955, for the first time, the military allowed men to se...
Pregnancy is one of life’s greatest miracles that a woman gets to experience during her lifetime. However, sometimes in life certain obstacles come into play that can interfere with pregnancy. One of these obstacles is Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. According to diabetes.org, “Gestational Diabetes is a condition where women who have never had diabetes have high blood glucose (sugar) levels during pregnancy.” Gestational Diabetes begins when the body is not able to produce and use the right amount of insulin that is needed to sustain pregnancy. It is shown that the prevalence rate for Gestational Diabetes is about 16.1% and it is a common factor that is increasing worldwide. Sadly, research has stated that the chances of developing gestational
The historical understanding of a nurse’s uniform has changed, evolved, and been overturned since they were first created. Overtime the nurse’s uniform has been “de-feminized”, meaning that it is not longer directed as a female profession. The uniform has also evolved in practicality, and how the nurse profession has affected women. When one understands the uniform as simply not a uniform, but a symbol of women during the war, and the evolution the profession caused, one begins to understand it’s historical significance.
According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, we live in a society of conformity that is, "in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members . . . the virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion" (Emerson, 21). Since Civil War Nursing, women in the work force have been faced with this dilemma of self-reliance and conformity. As women have been discriminated against, and referred to as inferior to men, it has not been an easy task to over come the social barriers, without giving in to conformity, especially when it comes to the work place. As their role in the Civil War, nurses "fulfilled more of a replacement mother position, rather than a healthcare provider"(Hamway, 2001).