Abstract
Throughout history, nurses have played a significant yet often overlooked role within the healing community,1 either ignored or disparaged by historians of medicine. Gender has unquestionably played a role in the historiography of nurses. The historical fact that women have dominated the nursing profession and men the medical profession has contributed both to the paucity of sources and the often negative view of nurses and nursing. The reality is that nurses have always provided the majority of the hands-on care given to sick people and that the nursing and medical professions share a long history of similar functions and tasks.
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© 2011 Leigh Whaley
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Whaley, L. (2011). The Healing Care of Nurses. In: Women and the Practice of Medical Care in Early Modern Europe, 1400–1800. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230295179_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230295179_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-32870-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-29517-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)