Asylum nursing as a career in the United Kingdom, 1890–1910

Abstract

For asylum nurses conditions were poor, the work difficult and their public image negative. The reality was that people from working class backgrounds entered asylum nursing at a relatively young age, often travelling some distance to do so, and then many only stayed for short periods. However, some women were able to take advantage of the possibilities offered by asylum work to develop a career for themselves in the absence of other opportunities.

Legitimacy in legacy: a discussion paper of historical scholarship published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1976–2011

“…The contribution of the place and context of practice to disciplinary development was the main theme of the 10 articles in the category ‘place and context of practice’ (Table ). Historical periods explored were the mid‐19th to the late 20th century and the chronological periods ranged from 2 (Meehan ) to 200 years (Brimblecombe ). Labour history and women's history were reflected in a number of articles, which examined how the discipline was influenced by challenges presented by place and context.…”

“…Two studies concerned the influence of changing treatment approaches on mental health nursing: Nolan () examined how asylum attendants' training schemes in the 19th century adversely influenced their professional advancement, and Brimblecombe () studied the influence of asylum nurses' working conditions and public image on retention in service. Three studies examined the place of care in disciplinary development: Young () analysed the adverse influence of the children's hospital setting and culture on children's nursing in the 20th century; Russell () examined mental health nurses' experiences of working in the institutional setting of the mental hospital; and Nikkonen () examined mental health nurses' roles in preparing long‐term psychiatric patients for community care.…”

“…Just two authors (Hallett et al . , Brimblecombe ) discussed the limitations of the evidence used and a further two cursorily mentioned the limits of their study design (Wattley , Russell ).…”

“…In studies based on documentary primary sources, most authors failed to report on the sourcing and analysis of documents. Just three authors (Fealy , Madsen , Brimblecombe ) described the type of sources used and the manner of their retrieval and/or selection, and only one author (Fealy ) described how sources were analysed and interpreted.…”

Exploring the past: mental health nursing in Greece

“…It was Pinel's social status as a doctor that led to his being given the credit for the ‘liberation of the mad’ while the impetus for change came from the attendant Pussin and his wife (Mougia 2000). It seems that if the history of mental health nursing is closely related to the activities, interests and aims of the psychiatrists (Nolan 1993, Brimblecombe 2006) one needs to locate the development of psychiatric ideas and practice in a historical context that includes the professionalization and power of psychiatry and medicine in general.…”