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

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....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Collegian (Royal College of Nursing, Australia) Australia), 2020-12, Vol.27 (6), p.642-648
Main Authors: Blay, Nicole, Pelosi, Janette
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Mental health
Nurses
Rehabilitation
Veterans
Workload
Wounds and injuries
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Summary: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. To identify the Australian trained and untrained nurses and their nursing work in an Australian auxiliary hospital in England during WW1. 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. Formally unrecognised, auxiliary (rehabilitation) nurses had a high patient load and worked long hours. Nursing activities spanned the acute, mental health and rehabilitation domains. Analogies can be made between perceptions of wartime auxiliary nursing work and the continued debate around contemporary rehabilitation nurses’ scope of practice. 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.
ISSN:1322-7696
DOI:10.1016/j.colegn.2020.07.004