next time you start to "Im JUST a nurse" - bite your tongue!

[-jt]

these NY ladies probably thought they were "just" nurses too......

(1858-1956)

Lavinia Lloyd Dock was one of nursings most colorful and influential leaders. A graduate of Bellevue Hospitals training school for nurses, Dock held positions in both hospitals and community agencies, and worked at the Henry Street Settlement for nearly twenty years. A fierce advocate of legislation to regulate nursing, she authored the influential and classic article, "What We May Expect from the Law," in the first issue of the American Journal of Nursing. When she realized many of nursings problems were part of the broader issue of womens rights, she involved herself wholeheartedly in the suffrage movement. As author of the first nurses manual on drugs, the first definitive history of nursing and hundreds of columns, Dock was a catalyst for improved understanding and communications within the global nursing community. She was instrumental in the early development of the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada, and the International Council of Nurses, and was a charter member of the New York State Nurses Association.......>>

(1867-1940)

Lillian D. Wald was a public health nurse and social reformer, and a graduate of the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses. In 1893, she established the Henry Street Settlement to provide professional nursing services to Manhattans immigrant poor in their homes. Wald believed nurses could be most effective if they lived in, and participated in, the activities of the neighborhood they served. The Henry Street Settlement eventually provided civic, educational, and social activities as well as nursing services. Championing the causes of public health nursing, housing reform, suffrage, world peace, and the rights of women, children, immigrants and working people, Wald became an influential leader in city, state, and national politics. Her tireless efforts to link the health of children with the health of nations made her a model of achievement, caring, and integrity throughout her lifetime. Although Wald achieved international recognition, her efforts were always grounded in the belief that the world was simply an expanded version of the culturally diverse neighborhood...... She is credited as the originator of public health nursing, initiator of the first public school nursing program, founder of the Childrens Bureau, founding member of the NAACP, and founder and first president of the National Organization for Public Health Nursing. Wald was well known in the social settlement movement, and active in the Womens Trade Union League, promoting the creation of unions for working women, womens suffrage, and peace movements. As author, community activist, and social reformer, she traveled widely and her influence was international, yet she remained a vital part of the Henry Street neighborhood.>>

(1870-1943)

Adah Belle Samuels Thoms, a crusader for increased educational and professional opportunities for black nurses, graduated from the Lincoln Hospital and Home Training School in the Bronx, NY. She was employed at Lincoln Hospital as operating room nurse, surgical nursing supervisor, assistant director of nurses, and acting director of the training school. Throughout her career she worked through her membership in professional associations for the betterment of black nurses. During World War I, Thoms persuaded the American Red Cross Nursing Service to accept black nurses, thus making them eligible for service in the Army Nurse Corps. She was a leader in the formation of the National Association of Colored graduate Nurses (NACGN), and later served as its president. She was an early member of the National Organization for Public Health Nursing (NOPHN), and actively worked for the integration and consolidation of NACGN and NOPHN into the American Nurses Association. Thoms was a member of the New York State Nurses Association through the institutional membership of her alumnae association.

Later in life, she wrote, Pathfinders , the first history of American black nursing, and was the first recipient of the Mary Mahoney Award.>>

(1890-1989)

Mabel Keaton Staupers devoted her career to breaking down color barriers in health care services and the profession of nursing. A graduate of Freedmans Hospital School of Nursing, she worked as a private duty nurse, organized the first private facility in Harlem that allowed African American physicians to treat their patients, and surveyed the health care needs in Harlem for the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association. As Executive Secretary and later president of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), Staupers strengthened the association through coalition building, improving the quality of publications, and increasing publicity. During World War II, she led NACGNs campaign to gain full acceptance of African American nurses into the military, increase minority recruitment into nursing, and upgrade nursing education for African American students. By wars end, both the Army and Navy Nurse Corps accepted African American applicants, largely due to Staupers efforts.

Her book No Time for Prejudice , documents the struggles, accomplishments, and events of her era.>>

[nightingale, RN]

Nursing IS a nobel profession. Thank you for reminding us jt. :-)

B.

[micro, RN]

-jt---------

thx for the reminder........for me and all of us...............

am saving this also for a reread as the hour is late.............

lol

[-jt]

my pleasure.

Since Nurses Week is approaching, its a good time to look back & see all that nurses really have accomplished. After reading more of these little bios, there is a definite sense that nursing = activism.... and its been that way for at least the last 100 yrs. Nurse activism is nothing new & its nothing to be afraid of.

[SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN]

originally posted by -jt

my pleasure.

since nurses week is approaching, its a good time to look back & see all that nurses really have accomplished. after reading more of these little bios, there is a definite sense that nursing = activism.... and its been that way for at least the last 100 yrs. nurse activism is nothing new & its nothing to be afraid of.

amen

[pickledpepperRN]

I know this thread is four years old but it is about our proud history.

One great inspiring leader , LAVINIA LLOYD DOCK (1858-1956)

http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0903102-190634/unrestricted/Smith_dis.pdf#search=%22Lavinia%20Dock%20quotes%2C%20activism%22