Historical exploration of the work and workload of the WW1 nurse in an Australian auxiliary hospital

Nicole Blay, Janette Pelosi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Following stabilisation in hospitals and on hospital ships wounded and sick servicemen in World War 1 were transferred to auxiliary (also known as convalescent) hospitals for convalescence and rehabilitation. Exploration of the work of the auxiliary (convalescent or rehabilitation) nurse is sparse. Aim: To identify the Australian trained and untrained nurses and their nursing work in an Australian auxiliary hospital in England during WW1. Methods: Digitised primary and secondary sources were used to identify nurses and their work. To account for names and spelling variances a process of data validation was employed. Findings: Formally unrecognised, auxiliary (rehabilitation) nurses had a high patient load and worked long hours. Nursing activities spanned the acute, mental health and rehabilitation domains. Discussion: Analogies can be made between perceptions of wartime auxiliary nursing work and the continued debate around contemporary rehabilitation nurses’ scope of practice. Conclusion: The complexity of WW1 auxiliary (rehabilitation) nurses’ work and workload was underestimated. Rehabilitative techniques gaining recognition today were embraced by auxiliary nurses over a century ago.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)642-648
Number of pages7
JournalCollegian
Volume27
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • Australia
  • World War, 1914-1918
  • hospitals, convalescent
  • nurses
  • workload

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