The Career Of The Civil War - 1715 Words

Nursing would not be what it has become today without the Civil War. The Civil War was a turning point in the career of nursing. There were many factors that changed nursing. For instance primitive nursing during the civil war. Surgeries were performed on the battlefield without sanitation or medications. Nurses on the war field were not really nurses they began by trying to comfort and take care of soldiers as they would their own families. Nursing was considered a woman’s job because of the mothering instinct it took to take care of others. Most nurses on the battlefield were nuns, some were other soldiers taking care of soldiers, others volunteered to be close to family and some battlefield nurses were slaves. Out of the Civil†¦show more content†¦As the war carried on nursing duties became more advanced medically. Male nurses were primarily ward attendants which performed nursing duties. Men were considered a minority in this profession and were not trea ted well by the soldiers. Soldiers preferred a woman because having a woman nurse made them feel more comfortable reminding them of home having a mother or sister caring for them. Nursing in this era was not considered a prestigious job. Most nurses were nuns during the civil war and volunteers. It was preferred that women were not pretty. Women were to be very plain, preferable women over the age of 30 and were made to wear black or anything that discouraged attractiveness. The women nurses were not allowed to fix their hair or wear jewelry. This was all a point to make the women the least attractive to the soldiers as the women were to be caregivers. It was not appropriate in this time period for a woman to care for other men other than family members or their spouse. Nursing was a bottom of the line job during the civil war. Many nurses were called thieves because they would steel from patients. Food was not plentiful and nurses did not make very much money. â€Å"During that time, nursing was despicable, low-grade occupation, says Lynn McDonald, PhD, Director of Collected Works of Florence Nightingale and professor emerita in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University Of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Nurses were often