Early 20th century untrained nursing staff in the Rockhampton district: a necessary evil?

Abstract

Consideration of the historical evolution of untrained nursing staff challenges some of the assumptions made about this category of nurse, assumptions that can affect current relationships between professional nurses and others who undertake nursing work.

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

“…Two examined the role and influence of professional organizations in shaping disciplinary development, the Royal College of Nursing (Simpson ) and the American Nurses' Association (Gabrielson ). Nelson () showed how the social mission and the nursing methods proffered by Catholic nursing nuns in Ireland provided a denominational model that was the precursor for modern secular professional nursing, and Madsen () examined the relationship of untrained nursing staff with trained nurses in the nursing services in Queensland in the early 20th century.…”

“…Additionally, research questions were examined mainly through the lens of social history, with scholars like Godin (), Biedermann et al . (), and Madsen () focusing on ‘ordinary’ nurses. Additionally, the feminist critique was applied in a number of studies, indicating the recognition by scholars of the inherently problematic nature of nursing as a form of gendered work.…”

“…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.…”

Private duty nurses in Greek hospitals: a literature review

“…At international level, a similar type of care existed many years ago. At the beginning of the 20th century, private duty nursing was common in countries such as USA and Australia (Baas 1992; Madsen 2005), and facilitated by either trained or untrained nurses (Madsen 2005). However, patients paid for this care in their homes rather than in hospitals.…”