Nurses in American Wars What

Nurses in American Wars

What experiences did nurses have during the various wars the United States was involved with that shaped the development of their profession? Around the time of the American Revolution, up to the Civil War, nursing in the U.S. was similar to nursing in Europe; nurses were not in the forefront at that time, according to Angel Learning. The earliest workplace for the professional nurse in America was the hospital, including the Philadelphia Almshouse in 1731 and Bellevue Hospital in New York City in 1658.

Meanwhile, as to nurses and wars, there is no doubt that nursing was extremely important during the bloody Civil War, and women such as Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, and others cared for the wounded -- even working on the front lines of battles. As a rule women were not seen as fit to serve in military engagements, and yet during WWI once again female nurses were on or near the front lines performing medical services such as cleaning gunshot wounds, performing minor surgeries, and even giving aid to wounded capture enemy soldiers. The Angel Learning information reflects the fact that nurses were very young (as young as 16 years) in WWI, and that many women volunteered to join the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) and served with all military units.