This month we present the 100 years celebration of the
Royal College of Nursing, exploring the role of nurses and nursing in the
history of medicine and public health.
In 1916, nursing was an unregulated profession, in 1919,
the Regulation of Nurses Act was passed which meant that all nurses had to
learn the same subjects and meet the same standards. From 2009, nursing became an
all-degree profession, meaning that all student nurses are now educated in
universities.
During the 18th century there was only one type of nurse
but today students can choose from one of the main four fields of nursing:
adult, children’s, learning disability, mental health and midwifery nursing or
health care assistants.
It was during the Crimean War (1854-1856) that nursing
began to be seen as a suitable occupation for women and this was partly due to
the rising fame of Nurse Mary Seacole followed by the popularity of Florence
Nightingale during wartime in the 19th century. However, it was
during the First World War that the demand for nursing services with nurses
working on the front line gave the appropriate recognition to the profession.
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| Bedford Library |
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| Bedford Library |
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| Bedford Library |
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| Bedford Library |
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