Nursing's divided house--an historical view

Abstract

The method of historical analysis was used in this study to examine the nature and scope of the divisions in nursing in America in the last third of the 19th century. The article presents the story of nursing's reform origins, describes the post-Civil War social context, and discusses changes particularly relevant to women. The development of nursing reflected the country's uncertainty and turbulence. The divisions that emerged in nursing are demonstrated by the three conflicting schemes for organizing nursing in hospitals in the late 1800s: (1) The original Nightingale model, adapted by the first (1873) American schools, kept nursing separate from hospital and medical domination but supervised by Boards of Lady Managers; (2) the Linda Richards model, initiated at Boston City Hospital in 1878, subjected nursing to medical control; and (3) the professional model, espoused by Isabel Hampton toward the century's close, sought self-regulation for nursing.