Nurses are entitled to the same recognition and respect as doctors. They should be given more credit for not just assisting patients with medical etiquettes and services, but also for providing emotional support. Recognizing nurses for carrying out their responsibilities to ensure public health is a matter of basic decency, but not many people know that or lack the civility to respect the community. We are easy to wave nurses off based on the ongoing derogatory stereotypes and the absence of manners society possesses. Nurses play an important part in the medical field and have made significant contributions to their jobs. From Florence Nightingale to Edith Cavell, then more well-known nurses with excellency in societal impact.
Nurses have been around for generations, notably throughout the horrific world wars where people are afflicted from left to right. Their energy tolls on these soldiers and affected civilians alike, with little rest for themselves. Time is harsh to humanity, it becomes more and more cruel when the nursing community is dragged down, entirely diverting their efforts for public health. It is unfair on their side to be treated in such a negative way. Here are facts about war nurses you should know about for deeper appreciation of the nurses’ sacrifices:
World War I Nurses Endures More Difficulties During Their Active Duty
It takes a headstrong mentality to be war nurses in the middle of a cold war. To put every single endeavor these nurses had endured would not be enough to talk about their difficulties in the midst of chaos. Among them is the perpetual mistreatment these nurses faced for being the majority of women, thus they are not treated the same as doctors, who were mostly men, which brings into the topic of gender stereotypes. There are also nurses working long hours, often dealing with insects, vermin, and inclement weather, and their proximity to the front line puts them in danger. They always put their duty first before anything else, even themselves, no matter the peril. Any misconduct or violation of rules can lead to their dismissal. Even before their decision to become a nurse, they have to face conflict and rift with their families. If that doesn’t speak for itself how many obstacles these nurses have to go through…
World War II Nurses Sacrificed Their Mental State To Aid
The scars of war are possible to heal, but it can also be little to none. To this day, the sound of bombs, guns, bullets and nuclear weapons can clearly be heard in the ears of soldiers and nurses alike. Even the remaining traces left on the war can be found when you map multiple locations. Unlike earlier battles, WWII placed nurses closer to the front lines than ever before. This was important to ensure that nurses could provide timely care to patients. They worked in challenging situations, making on-the-spot judgments for badly injured soldiers at field hospitals. In all of American history, women had never been so near to conflict. And yet they are still put through with risk of injury or death. Women who served as nurses during World War II saw and experienced some extremely unsettling things, just like the men who fought on the front lines. Many nurses, like soldiers, got PTSD as a result of their overseas service. In one case, the Japanese detained 79 American Army nurses as prisoners of war in the Philippines. According to one account in Pure Grit, a book on WWII nurses’ experiences, a nurse named Francis Mash took a deadly amount of morphine for each American nurse as they left for Bataan. This was in case they were kidnapped by the Japanese.
American Civil War Nurses Were Not Sufficiently Trained
In the United States, nurses are now obliged to hold a nursing degree, but this was not previously the case during the war. During the American Civil Battle, nurses were not fully equipped to handle the huge responsibility of caring for the thousands of injured and ill troops that the war produced. Thousands of soldiers who would have died otherwise were saved as a result of their efforts. Later, the critical function of nurses throughout the war was recognized, and training programs were formed. Nurses now serve in all branches of the military.
Nursing Volunteers During World War I
During World War I, 90,000 volunteers labored both at home and overseas, aiding naval and military forces by caring for ill and injured sailors and soldiers. These volunteer nurses in the Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs), made up of both men and women, performed a variety of tasks such as nursing, transportation, and the organization of rest stops, working parties, and auxiliary hospitals. Many people were encouraged to train to help the sick and injured as the conflict broke out. Approved medical practitioners were required to teach women first aid, home nursing, and hygiene. They also took cooking classes. Men were trained in first aid and stretcher bearing in the field.
