Marie Branch and the Power of Nursing

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Cory Ellen Gatrall, RN, CLC, Doctoral Student, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

The following is an excerpt of a recent post by Cory Ellen Gatrall, on Nursing Clio.

In June 2020, when millions took to the streets in the midst of a pandemic to protest police attacks on Black lives, public statements began to trickle out of major nursing organizations. The American Nurses Association (ANA) called racism “a public health crisis,” while the American Association of Colleges of Nursing declared that “racism will no longer be tolerated.” In fact, since its inception, organized nursing has not only tolerated racism but also actively practiced it, while those who have provided the field with both evidence and opportunity to make antiracist change have found themselves facing the weaponized inertia of the institutions which claim to represent them.

Read more at: https://nursingclio.org/2020/10/29/marie-branch-and-the-power-of-nursing/

The Racist Lady With The Lamp

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Natalie Stake-Doucet, RN, MSC, Doctoral Candidate, Université de Montréal

The following is an excerpt of a recent post by Natalie Stake-Doucet, on Nursing Clio.

Nursing historiography is centered on whiteness. Even worse, nursing history revolves largely around a single white nurse: Florence Nightingale. This, unfortunately, doesn’t mean nurses understand who Nightingale was. There are nurse historians doing incredible and diverse work, but in general, nursing, both as a profession and as an academic discipline, promotes a view of Nightingale based in a culture of white supremacy rather than historical facts. Here, I make explicit Nightingale’s role in British colonial violence by analyzing some of her writings on the British colonies. This history allows us to better discuss the consequences of her legacy in nursing.

Read more at: https://nursingclio.org/2020/11/05/the-racist-lady-with-the-lamp/

1918 Redux: Supportive Nursing Care for the Coronavirus Pandemic Is Courageous Care

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Patricia D’Antonio, PhD, RN, FAAN, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

The following is an excerpt from a recent guest post by Barbara Bates Center Director Patricia D’Antonio, PhD, RN, FAAN, on Off the Charts, the blog of the American Journal of Nursing

The lessons of the past.

As we struggle to make sense of unfolding data, announcements, and public health directives about the current coronavirus pandemic, appreciating the lessons from past pandemics can help us understand the effectiveness and challenges related to quarantines and social isolation, as well as the need for reliable and timely communications.

In times of public health uncertainty, nurses and nursing care have played a critical role in saving lives and relieving suffering. We now know a great deal about the role of nursing during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Some lessons need heeding now…

Read more here

New Opium Epidemics, Old Problems: Ellen La Motte and the Anti-Opium Crusade

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By Lea Williams, PhD

In his 2014 State of the State address, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin devoted significant attention to the growing epidemic of opioid addiction in his state where the number of deaths from heroin overdoses doubled between 2012 and 2013 with a 770% increase in treatment for opiate addiction from 2000-2013. This situation continues to play out across the country with numerous news stories highlighting the contemporary heroin problem. Continue reading →

In Honor of Nurses Week – The Stethoscope: A Tool of Nurses’ Trade since the 1930s

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By Lydia Wytenbroek, York University 

Last September, the Miss America competition’s talent portion featured Kelley Johnson, Miss Colorado, a registered nurse, who appeared on stage wearing nurses’ scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck. Johnson’s talent was delivery of a monologue about her experience caring for Joe, a patient with Alzheimer ’s disease. In a competition where the majority of contestants choose to enact a song or dance, Johnson’s performance stood out as unique. But it was comments made about Johnson’s monologue the following day by the co-hosts of ABC’s The View which hurled Johnson, and the nursing profession, into the public spotlight. Continue reading →