Drunkenness and Misbehaviour? A Reappraisal of Nursing before Nightingale (online talk)

Nursing did not begin with Florence Nightingale. But what was it like in the days before Nightingale nursing?

On the same day in 1791, the sister, nurse and helper in Luke’s ward St Bartholomew’s Hospital were all sacked for drunkenness. This is what we might expect from the picture painted by Victorian nursing reformers: but a closer examination of the hospital journals reveals a more complicated picture. Women were just as likely, or more likely, to be promoted, praised or pensioned as they were to be dismissed.

In this online talk, Professor Alannah Tomkins from the University of Keele uses hospital and other records to compile data about nursing staff and unpick the life stories of a select few nurses before Nightingale. She finds a diversity of employment experiences that did not generally end in disgrace.

Please register to attend, and a link will be circulated in advance with instructions on how to join the meeting. All tickets must be booked individually.

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