A Brief History of Nursing in the US Prior to WWII

 

Traditionally, it was the responsibility of family, friends, and neighbors to care for and treat the sick. In the US, this was true until hospitals became more widespread in the early 1800s. This was due to urbanization and industrialization across the country. As the number of hospitals began to increase, so did the demand for caregivers who were trained to treat the new patients. 

 

The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 created an immediate need for capable nurses to care for the enormous number of sick and wounded. About 20,000 women and men served as nurses in both the North and the South. The commendable service by Civil War nurses was critical to the rationale for setting up training programs for nursing. 

 

In 1873, three nursing programs in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, began operations. By 1900, somewhere between 400 to 800 schools of nursing were in operation across the country. These new schools were either affiliated with or owned by a hospital. During their two to three years of training, students were provided with clinical experience, which was very similar to an apprenticeship. Over time, students began to receive more theoretical instruction, and became less involved with direct care. This was due to the development of state licensing boards and the increasingly complex demands of patient care.

 

For many years, nursing was a predominantly female profession, and men were rarely granted admission to nursing school. Additionally, American professional nursing maintained strict racial segregation until the mid-twentieth century.