North Carolina Nurses - A Century of Caring

The Documentary

When the Civil War began, North Carolina had neither hospitals nor trained nurses. Yet by 1865, Tar Heel women-many with copies of Florence Nightingale's "Notes on Nursing" as their only instruction manual-had established fifteen military hospitals in the state, as well as the new career of professional nursing. In 1903, through the work of the newly formed North Carolina Nurses Association (NCNA), the state became the first in the nation to pass a nurse registration law and create a board of nursing. In the 100 years since, Tar Heel nursing leaders have remained at the forefront in the advancement of what was once considered a form of indentured servitude into a true profession, one which recent surveys rank as the most trusted in America...

Nursing Then and Now

1861
As the Civil War begins, North Carolina has neither hospitals nor trained nurses. Many Southern women volunteer their services as nurses due to the shocking number of casualties. Florence Nightingale's "Notes on Nursing," published in 1860, becomes the inspiration and only instruction manual for many...

African American Nurses

At the same time that Mary Lewis Wyche was serving as a leader in the development of schools of nursing for young white women, a parallel development was happening in the African-American communities of Raleigh and Charlotte. On October 18, 1896, the St. Agnes Hospital in Raleigh opened its doors. By today's standards it would not even are recognized as a hospital. There was a single cold water faucet in the kitchen and water was heated over a wood stove to sterilize equipment. During its first six months of operation, the hospital cared for 17 inpatients and 35 outpatients. An additional 223 people received medical and nursing care in their homes....



Military Nurses

Col. Peggy Wilmoth, PhD, RN, is currently Commander of the 312th Field Hospital in Greensboro, NC. She writes the following article about Army Nursing.

The privilege of commanding a unit with such a long, proud history would not have entered my mind 20 years ago when I joined the Army Reserves. The privilege of being an Army Nurse has allowed me to grow professionally and personally in ways I would not have dreamed of 20 years ago upon receiving my commission in the Army Nurse Corps, US Army Reserves. I dreamed of being an Army Nurse from the time I was a child and listened to my neighbor, Elizabeth Smith, share stories of being an Army Nurse during World War II. I too wanted to take care of America's soldiers-and now that I have a son in the Army; this desire is stronger than ever....

Men in Nursing

Men first began to enter the nursing profession in the late 1950's. Today, approximately 5.4% of the 2.2 million nurses are men. However, a 2000 survey found that almost 13% of the students enrolled in nursing school are men...

Types of Nurses