Commentary on Maria Lorentzon: socializing nurse probationers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – relevance of historical reflection for modern policy makers

Through some painstaking archival work, Maria Lorentzon has indeed provided a snapshot of the educational formation of nurses at a particular juncture in the history of nursing.

Abstract

The preparation of nurses is an important area for the consideration of nursing historians in view of what Rafferty has identified as the pivotal position of education in the shaping of occupational culture and the politics of nursing (Rafferty 1996). Through some painstaking archival work, Maria Lorentzon has indeed provided a snapshot of the educational formation of nurses at a particular juncture in the history of nursing. In her selection of primary sources, she has chosen not only the more familiar areas of the voluntary hospital training schools, but has drawn attention to the less researched establishments of the Poor Law. Prior to the establishment of the National Health Service the majority of nurses were trained in Poor Law hospitals. For instance of the 314 candidates who passed the general state examination in the summer of 1925, 185 were from Poor Law training schools. The London voluntary hospitals produced only 4 nurses who passed the examination on that occasion (Success for Nurses in Exams 1925). She has also reminded us that Nightingale’s reforms were as important in that sphere as in the voluntary hospitals. Linking her findings from the training schools records with articles