10 Fun Facts about Nurses

By Jordie Papa

Image by Uniform Destination

Since so many of my customers are nurses, I thought I’d take the time this week to discuss a few facts with which they may not be familiar.  While physicians were a male-dominated profession since antiquity, did you know that as far back as the 4^th Century BC, women in Egypt were allowed to practice medicine?

      1.      Who was the first registered nurse in the US?

That distinction goes to Linda Richards, who in 1873 became the first nurse to be awarded a nursing degree at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston.    She went onto establish nurse training programs in the US and Japan.  She also created the first medical record system used in hospitals to keep track of patient care.    Four years after graduating, Richards took additional training in London under Florence Nightingale, before returning to the US.  If you would like to read more about her incredible saga, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Richards

2. What’s the ratio of nurses who work full-time as opposed to those who work part-time?

Believe it or not, 25% of registered nurses only work part time.  (With LPN’s the ratio is one in five.) That doesn’t mean the demand for RN’s and LPN’s is waning.  In fact, the demand for licensed nurses is expected to increase by 33% between now and 2050.   There is currently 1 nurse for every 972 people in the country.

3.  Did you know that Walt Whitman was a nurse?

That’s right.  The famous poet who was born 30-years after the American Revolution, became a volunteer hospital nurse from 1862-1865.   It was during the Civil War that his brother George enlisted and was wounded at Fredericksburg.   Walt moved to Washington to be near his brother and after visiting a number of military hospitals that had been set up in the area to tend to the wounded, he volunteered his services.  Being self-educated, it didn’t take him long to learn the ropes.  Additionally, he was forced to work as a lowly clerk to support himself while still finding time to care for the sick and wounded.

4. Do you know that the first commissioned female officer in the US Army was a nurse?

Image courtesy Working Nurse

In 1947, nurse Florence Blanchfield became the first woman to be commissioned an officer in the US Army when she became Superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps. It was General Dwight D. Eisenhower who personally promoted her to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, making her the very first woman to hold a permanent military rank in the army. In 1978, an army hospital in Fort Campbell was named after her.

5. Did you know that knights were also nurses?

Founded in 1113 AD, the Knights Hospitallers was founded to rebuild a hospital in Jerusalem.  The knights were also tasked with caring for the sick, as well as providing armed escorts to European pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. 

6. You may believe that nurses are #1…

But did you know that nurses are more numerous than any other kind of workers in the healthcare profession? According to the Dept. of Labor, there were 2,906,840 nurses in the US in 2017.  

Image courtesy of wikimedia

7. Can you guess which President’s wife volunteered as a nurse during a time of war? 

Abraham Lincoln’s wife Mary Todd Lincoln volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War.  (The White House itself was turned into temporary quarters for Union soldiers for the duration of the war.)  She also backed the establishment of a female nursing corps after the war was over.

8. Do you know who founded the American Red Cross?

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881 at the age of 59.  During the Civil War she not only cared for sick and wounded soldiers, she risked life and limb by bringing supplies to soldiers in the field. During several battles, she nursed and comforted the wounded, as well as cooking for them.  This heroism earned her the moniker “The Angel of the Battlefield.”

9. Did you know the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor was a nurse?

In 1855, Mary Edwards Walker was the only woman in her class to graduate from Syracuse Medical College as an MD.  When the Civil War broke out, she tried to join the Union Army but was denied a commission. So, she volunteered as a nurse. Later in the war, she worked as a field surgeon during the battles of Fredericksburg and Chattanooga.  Finally, she was commissioned as an Acting Assistant Surgeon in September 1863.  Eight months later, she was captured by Rebel forces and sent to Richmond as a POW and was later exchanged for a Confederate officer. After the war, President Johnson signed a bill that awarded her the Congressional Medal of Honor.  To this day, she is the only woman to have received this honor.  

America Comes Alive

10. If you think you have it hard in your nursing job…

James Derham, born into slavery, worked as a nurse in Philadelphia, PA.  This allowed him to save enough money to buy his freedom in 1786.  Later he studied medicine before becoming the first African American to formally practice medicine in the US. He opened a successful medical practice in New Orleans.

Jordie Papa is owner of Uniform Destination with four locations in North Florida.