Front Lines and Frontiers: War as Legitimate Work for Nurses, 1939–1945 (original) (raw)
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Sister Soldiers of the Great War: The Nurses of the Canadian Army Medical Corps
2016
Printed in Canada on FSC-certified ancient-forest-free paper (100% post-consumer recycled) that is processed chlorine-and acid-free. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Toman, Cynthia, author Sister soldiers of the Great War : the nurses of the Canadian Army Medical Corps / Cynthia Toman. (Studies in Canadian military history) Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued in print and electronic formats.
An Officer and a Lady: Canadian Military Nursing and the Second World War
2007
Illustrations and Tables Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1 "Ready, Aye Ready": Enlisting Nurses 2 Incorporating Nurses into the Military 3 Shaping Nursing Sisters as "Officers" and "Ladies" 4 Legitimating Military Nursing Work 5 "The Strain of Peace": Community and Social Memory Conclusion Appendix: Biographical Profiles of Interviewed Nursing Sisters Notes Selected Bibliography Index.
Army nurses in wartime: distinction and pride
Military medicine, 1996
Nurses have served with distinction in wartime since Florence Nightingale went to the Crimea. Women often accompanied their husbands to battle during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, caring for the sick and wounded. Although not officially given officer status until 1920, Army nurses served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. As officers, thousands of nurses served in subsequent wars, distinguishing themselves by their heroism, devotion to duty, and sheer tenacity of spirit.
This paper explores the roles of nurses in the First World War are examined in the lenses of gender roles, both how the nurses exemplified the roles and how they challenged them. This is done by using three published diaries from British nurse as primary sources. It includes a section on how women were challenged before becoming a part of the war as well as the history that allowed women to become professional war nurses. It continues by sharing the experiences of these nurses in war and how they coped with the horror around them. How the systems in place broke down due to the number of wounded that overwhelmed the aid stations and how the nurses helped by taking a leading role in patient care and management. It concludes with personal connections both to patients and the home front that comforted both the nurses and the wounded.
“Help Us, Serve England”: First World War Military Nursing and National Identities
Canadian Bulletin of Medical History
Historians generally argue that the First World War was a defining experience from which Canadians emerged with a strong sense of national identity distinct from their British roots. There is little historical research on women’s wartime experiences and even less on military nurses. This article explores the working relationships of Nursing Sister Emeline Robinson with British nurses, VAD volunteers, orderlies, and medical officers during her one and a half years with the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve through her diary, which spans her enlistment, resignation, and re-enlistment with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Many Places, Many Problems: Canadian First World War Military Nursing Sisters in the Mediterranean
During the First World War, 2,845 fully trained nurses served with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Although Canadian combat troops were focused on the Western Front in France and Belgium, more than 500 of Canada’s military nurses, called ‘Nursing Sisters,’ worked in hospital units which were sent to the Mediterranean, a part of the Eastern Front. This study will examine the impact of place on nursing sisters’ experiences in the East. The five Canadian medical units to which these nursing sisters were assigned ran hospitals in Cairo, Egypt, on the Greek island of Lemnos, and the Greek city of Salonika between 1915 and 1917. The circumstances in each of these three locations presented a tremendous variety of problems for the nurses: there was no monolithic Mediterranean theatre experience for Canada’s nursing sisters. On the island of Lemnos, nursing sisters encountered temporary hospital infrastructure which was inadequate for the extreme weather. Administrative chaos, nursing sister illness, and a desperate lack of supplies further hampered their efforts to care for soldier-patients. The city of Salonika was close to active fighting, and the surrounding marshy land resulted in a great many malarial mosquitos. Problems arising from nursing sister sickness and the need for nursing reinforcements were more acute as a result of the considerable length of time Canadian hospitals were posted in Salonika. Egypt was a place of contrasts for the nursing sisters. Many spent large amounts of time at leisure while they waited to be sent to their hospitals in Greece; others worked in the Canadian hospital in Cairo. Nursing sisters were struck by the contrast between modern and ancient architecture and difference in cultural practices they witnessed in Egypt. The experiences of Canadian nursing sisters in these three Mediterranean settings reveal how they and their hospital units participated in an extended military healthcare network composed of many types of hospitals from different countries, as well as hospital ships and large administrative structures. Beyond the military organization, the nursing sisters’ time in the Mediterranean can be further elucidated by examining their relationships with the local inhabitants and environment. Often overshadowed by the strong presence of the Western Front in Canada’s memory of the First World War, the Mediterranean experiences of hundreds of nursing sisters and their five Canadian hospital units form an important, and under-examined, part of Canadian military nursing history in conjunction with an overlooked part of Canadian history and international cooperative work.
Experiences of U.S. Military Nurses in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, 2003-2009
Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2010
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the lived experience of U.S. military nurses who served in Iraq or Afghanistan during the war years 2003 to 2009, and life after returning from war.Methods: Colaizzi's phenomenological method guided discovery. This method includes elements of both descriptive and interpretive phenomenology. The sample consisted of 37 military nurses who served in the Army, Navy, or Air Force in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Four data-generating questions guided the interview process. Most interviews were face-to-face and conducted in naturalistic settings chosen by the participants. Several interviews were conducted telephonically due to geographic constraints. Data analysis followed Colaizzi's method of analysis. Seven themes emerged from the data, including “deploying to war;”“remembrance of war: most chaotic scene;”“nurses in harm's way: more than I bargained for;”“kinship and bonding: my military family;”“my war stress: I'm a different person now;”“professional growth: expanding my skills;” and “listen to me: advice to deploying nurses.” Analysis continued until data saturation was achieved.Results: Results indicated that wartime deployment was a difficult challenge, lessons learned should be shared with nurses deploying in future years, homecoming was more difficult than most nurses anticipated, and reintegration after coming home takes time and effort.Conclusions: Nursing in war is a unique experience regardless of education, preparation and training. There are a myriad of variables that enter into the experience and effect outcomes, both personal and professional.Clinical Relevance: Wartime nursing is a reality in the current clinical practice arena. War takes its toll on everyone involved, including the caregivers. Nurses returning from war can provide valuable insights to those that follow.