Nurses In 1887 Had To Follow These Nine Rules
By
Michael Avery in
History
On 7th December 2015
Some of the most unsung heroes are nurses.
So often we think of police, fireman and the military as the top warriors out there. But nurses are true warriors as well when it comes to providing heroic care. The task is physically, as well as emotionally, draining.
While nursing has changed throughout the years, it’s fascinating to look at how the profession looked back in the day. Say, 1887! There were nine rules for bedside nurses and some of these are very strange, not to mention strict, by today’s standards. But they all reveal just how incredibly hardworking and dedicated nurses were, not to mention the discipline they had to adhere to for doing a very tough and challenging job.
Here are the rules for given to nurses at a hospital back in 1887:
1. Daily sweep and mop the floors of your ward, dust the patient’s furniture and window sills.
2. Maintain an even temperature in your ward by bringing a scuttle of coal for the day’s business.
3. Light is important to observe the patient’s condition. Therefore, each day fill kerosene lamps, clean chimneys and trim wicks. Wash the windows once a week.
4. The nurse’s notes are important in aiding the physician’s work. Make your pens carefully; you may whittle nibs to your individual taste.
5. Each nurse on day duty will report every day at 7 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m. except on the Sabbath on which day you will be off from 12 noon to 2 p.m.
6. Graduate nurses in good standing with the director of nurses will be given an evening off each week for courting purposes or two evenings a week if you go regularly to church.
7. Each nurse should lay aside from each pay day a goodly sum of her earning for her benefits during her declining years so that she will not become a burden. For example, if you earn $30 a month you should set aside $15.
8. Any nurse who smokes, uses liquor in any form, gets her hair done at a beauty shop, or frequents dance halls will give the director of nurses good reason to suspect her worth, intentions and integrity.
9. The nurse who performs her labors and serves her patients and doctors faithfully and without fault for a period of five years will be given an increase by the hospital administration of five cents per day.
