Nurses’ Changing Role during the WWII
Nurses always played an important role in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; however, they did not get more attention and serious concern until the outbreak of the World War II . In 1939, the World War II (WWII), the largest conflict in the history, broke out. The United States entered the war after the bombing of the Pearl Harbor in 1941. The number of nurses failed to meet the demand of the military; the government and organizations encouraged nurses to join the Army Nurse Corps by producing propaganda posters and films to establish a positive status an army nurse may attain. Therefore, nurses portrayed in the WWII recruiting advertisements became a positive role that was respected, reliable, and professional.
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During the period of the war, nurses had to work “closer to the front lines than the ever had before.” The film shows that most of the nurses served on or near the dangerous battlefields such as “field hospitals and evacuation hospitals, on hospital trains and hospital ships, and as flight nurses on medical transport planes.” Nurses were doing patient care; they handled patients and assisted doctors. “18 nurses were assigned to a field hospital, which could handle 75 to 150 patients.” Also, fewer than 4 percent of the U.S. soldiers who received treatment in the field or underwent evacuation died from wounds or disease. Nurses’ service at the front significantly contributed to the U.S military’s success in the WWII. Hence, the advertisements describe nurses as a respected role in the
For decades, America has fought in many different wars with the need of health assistance for their soldiers. The American Red Cross is a worldwide organization that helped during the times of war but also provided a path for scientific advancements. Through the American Red Cross and other organizations of this time, they opened up the doors for women to take the chance to advance in the medical field by participating in scientific experiments and being at the aide of wounded soldiers. During this time of scrutiny, the Great War was a hidden opportunity for the encroachment of medical research with the contribution to the expansion of nursing.
The role of Australian nurses in World War ll was extremely important and without their presence both at the front and at home the death rate of Australian soldiers would have been much higher. Never before in a war were women expected to be at risk as much as the men. They should be acknowledged along with the men who served. World War ll used many more ways to harm people. World War ll involved nuclear power and warfare, genocide, submarines, tanks and was fought in many places/country’s including air, land and the ocean. 1
Dear diary today is my first day as a nurse in Vietnam, I have to say that it not what I had expected. First off I expected to be in a big hospital building, with good equipment to work with. However I did not expect to work in small tents. There is very little room, and hard to move around with so many people. There are so many soldiers who are wounded, and can barely move. I have to say that this job is exhausting because more soldiers keep coming, some of the men
One aspect of nursing that has changed since the early 1800’s is nursing education. There was no question about the credibility of the women providing care to soldiers after the war. For many years untrained nurses and consequently nursing students cared the sick without any supervision. In 1873, the need for educated nurses was sought but was opposed by untrained physicians who thought trained nurses would pose a threat to their jobs (Gary & Hott, 1988). “Nurses have evolved
Instead, nurses were to assist with the soldiers’ diet and make sure what they ate was carefully regulated. They cared for physical needs like distribution of linen and clothes. They also helped with emotional and spiritual care by comforting them and writing letters to their family for them.
First off the nurses were important because they were the ones who helped the injured ones or the sick ones. Normally it would be the nurses who would find out if the women disguised as men would actually be a woman and when they found out the truth they would have to go and tell a genreal the truth. Now between 2,000 to 5,000 women volunteered as nurses during the war. Nursing was a gruesome job that provided an upclose look at the horrific casualties of the war. Civil War nurses cleaned wounds, fed soldiers, dispensed medication and assisted surgeons during operations and medical procedure like amputations.
However, female soldiers also have many tough things to do and face the risk of death. Although they join a war as nurses, they need to fight against an
From 1861 to 1865, “between 2,000 to 5,000 women” volunteered to serve as nurses in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses from all over came to lend a hand during this devastating time. Clara Barton, Annie Etheridge, Dorothea Dix, Susie King Taylor, and Helen Gilson were just a few of the many nurses who volunteer their services to the war effort. Women wanted to be involved and help out as much as they could. Most women did not want to be at home - doing their traditional domestic work. Many women thought that helping out during the Civil War as nurses was an addition to doing their home duties. Women also believed that working as a nurse helping soldiers during the war would make a difference in how people viewed them. Being a
Prior to WWI, women were only allowed to be a military nurse but even then, they weren 't actually enlisted. They were taking care of the men during the war and wasn’t given no type of recognition for doing so. Women 's roles
December 7, 1941 a date that will forever be remembered in American history, was the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. The air in the country after the attack was that of patriotism and determination to defend the nation. America’s involvement in World War II had a profound effect on the profession of nursing. In the time frame of the war nursing saw influences and changes take place within the creation of the National Nursing Council for War, the shortage in nurses, the expansion of nursing practice used while in flight, the view of African Americans serving their country, and the post-war affects of nursing when the war ended.
These female nurses provided medical help for the wounded soldiers at Gallipoli and also on the Western Front. As most of the hospital stations were near the front line many nurses were exposed to aerial bombs and shelling. They were expected to work in primitive conditions; some hospitals were equipped for a mere 520 people yet held 2500 during the wartime. As a result of the long hours and poor conditions many nurses suffered serious illnesses. A total of 2139 Australian nurses served overseas and of these 25 died. Through enduring such adverse conditions nurses proved extreme dedication towards the war effort and their country.
These early nurses were quickly educated on the rigors of war and the primitive accommodations. Hundreds of women lasted little more than a month and for those that did last the work became gratifying and their Christian mission. At the bloodiest moments of the war, nurses braved heat of moment and offered selflessly to treat injured. These ladies
The Vietnam War was the longest war ever fought by U.S. military forces. U.S. personnel were engaged from 1961 until 1973. Approximately 10,000 U.S. military women served in Vietnam during the war. Most were members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse Corps. All of the Army nurses were volunteers who attended a six-week basic training class, and then were assigned to one-year stunts in Vietnam hospitals and mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) units. Most of these nurses were fresh out of nursing school, some with less than six months of clinical experience. These nurses were not prepared for the physical and emotional wounds that they would have to heal.
On March 15, 1965, large shipments of troops arrived in South Vietnam. These troops occupied the country until 1973. During this time, many men fought and died for the United States of America. The numerous nurses that operated on thousands of soldiers are often forgotten. The soldiers that the nurses operated on were usually blown apart and crippled for life. The nurses worked diligently to save these men. Even by working hard to save these men they were not recognized as army personnel by the public. The Vietnamese citizens and even the male American soldiers looked down upon the nurses. The United States did not acknowledge the nurses that served in the Vietnam War until 1993. The nurses
Women, regardless of the opposition, were determined to support their armies and their beliefs even on the battlefield. The North and South armies of the country were fighting without proper organization from their respective governments, leading women to volunteer to help their men in whatever manner they could. Contributing to the war effort, women were “responsible for much of the clothing, feeding, and nursing of the soldiers.”18 Women would cook and do the laundry for the soldiers, working in camps away from the battlefield. Other women would provide comfort for the dying soldiers, nurturing the wounded and staying with the men who were dying until their last moments. Their efforts were to offset the fact that the wounded men were separated from their loved ones and “represented domestic tranquility in the midst of armed conflict.”19 Women were not prohibited from nursing injured soldiers because it was “not yet a profession requiring special training…care of the sick and injured was traditionally a female skill”20. Nursing was not the only important contribution that women provided during the war. They also worked within their communities to make up for the men who had left to fight in the war, managing homes and plantations,