Abstract:
This historical research study examines some of the factors that caused
problems for early New Zealand trained nurses upon their introduction into New
Zealand hospitals, between 1885 and 1914. Eight incidents in the professional lives of
nurses of the period are used as illustrations of the strains and discord that were
apparent in this time of change. Analysis of these incidents attempts to answer the
question as to whether the introduction of trained nurses into the New Zealand
hospital system did add new considerations to problems encountered by nurses in
their professional life. The conclusion is that there was a new dimension of difference
added to the system with the introduction of the trained nurse. This developed from
the evidence that these nurses, particularly if they were also matrons, had to fit into
the existing power structures, which were not really ready to accept them, either
through choice or lack of foresight. Enmeshed within these considerations is the
influence of Florence Nightingale; her effect on nursing itself, and the consequent
public and official perception, or misperception, of who nurses should be.
