Nutrix
(Latin) to nourish

by Katherine Mary Windsor

"As my Lord nourishes my soul, let my work as a nurse aid the sick.
As my instructors have nourished my mind, let my knowledge aid in healing."
K. Windsor
Yavapai College Honors Program
A Perspective of the Nursing Profession While Traveling in England
Spring 1997
Instructors:
Brent Boone-Roberts
Dr. Kathryn Reisdorfer
Virginia Chandra

I hope you enjoy my little journey through time. Katie

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England
The foundation of nursing is as old as the first woman who gently cared for her personal health needs while cradling her newborn in her weary arms. Later, an ill child would be nurtured by mother or an older woman in the family who had experience in caring for little ones. It was believed that illness was derived from supernatural causes. Good spirits meant health while evil spirits brought sickness or death. (Taylor)

As tribes grew, spiritual leaders arose to tend to the "dis"ease of the soul. Could it have been possible that Stonehenge might have been a place to petition The Divine for spiritual and physical healing. As one looks through the design during the summer solstice, the sun is the focal point. Intriguing that Christians would later look to another Son as their focal point in spiritual and physical healing.

Asclepius, Son of Apollo, the god of healing. Father of Hygeiae (goddess of prevention) and Panaceae (goddess of therapy). Ancient Greek pilgrims traveled to the temples (spas) to be cured of their illnesses. (British Museum)

Hippocrates (the father of medicine) claimed that observation and rational thinking were the best tools to find the truth. The Greeks found that good nutrition, exercise and relaxation were essential to have a healthy body. (British Museum)

Ancient Surgical Instruments (British Museum)
(left to right)
Extraction hooks, Scoops, Catheters, Spatula (to mix and apply ointments)
Bronze bone saw, Bone Chisel, Bronze bleeding cup (on shelf) ,Terra cotta models (far right)

Many physicians in the Roman world were Greek. Some physicians rose to influence in the courts of Kings. Overall, they were not as highly regarded compared to today.
[Aqueus Sulis, Bath] The father of King Lear, Bladud, had been exiled from his home because of an unsightful skin condition. While looking for a place to bath, he found the natural hot springs which miraculously healed his grotesque skin. Was it magic or an answer to his prayers?
In time, the Romans came, saw, and conquered the magical waters. Was it Sulis or Minerva who answered their health requests?

The city grew around the healing waters. One cannot mistake the idea that at one time in history, the townsfolk believed the real source of healing power is expressed through the architecture of Bath Abbey which is pointing heavenward.

Ancient Roman Latrine - Notice the engraved chariot wheels.
(British Museum)

Centuries later, pilgrims throughout Britain came for the healing waters, especially for rheumatic diseases. However, only the citizens of Bath were permitted to make use of the Roman springs by a royal decree of Queen Elizabeth I. By an Act of Parliament, the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases opened in 1742. The object of the Hospital was to provide access to treatment in the thermal waters of Bath for the Sick and Poor from Britain and Ireland. Of course the real reason was to alleviate the streets of the posh city from the swarms of beggars.
(Royal Mineral Water Hospital)
During the Medieval Period religious orders provided a place for men and woman to offer their lives in devotion to the Lord by tending to the sick and needy.

Lay women, Deaconesses, organized to visit the sick.

Laymen, Knight Hospitallers, (orderlies) were expected to not only to care for their patients but were also required to be ready for battle to defend the hospital.
The Royal Mineral Water Hospital Arms are distinguished by the royal emblem of ancient crowns, referring to the royal approval to build the Hospital, by King George II. The herald refers to sinister and dexter, (left and right) from the viewpoint of the person holding the shield on which the arms are displayed. Therefore, we are seeing a mirror image, sinister (left) on our right and vice versa. The grassy mound represents the seven hills of Bath. Within the mound are three fountains with wavy lines to denote water - the hot springs. The dexter supporter is a pilgrim with a staff, carrying a jug. He represents travellers coming to Bath and the Hospital to be healed. The sinister supporter represents Prince Bladud the discoverer of the hot springs. The piglet under his arm denotes the fact that her became a swineherd after banishment from his homeland. The arms are contained with the shield and show the two bones which represent the bone and joint diseases in general. The foxglove plant refers to the healing power of plants and drugs derived from them. The bronze mortar in the base of the shield is significant of the healing arts of the apothecary and physician.
(Royal Mineral Water Hospital, Bath)


Model of old Sarum outside of modern day Salisbury. The Church and Castle stood side by side in the center of the castle walls.
(Salisbury Cathedral)

Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick
During the Reformation, Catholic institutions were abolished by the newly formed Church of England which lead to a shortage of people to care for the sick. Hospitals were replaced by work houses and alms houses for the poor. Disreputable women who had committed crimes, alcoholics and aged prostitutes were recruited into nursing in lieu of serving time in jail. Healthcare reverted to a primitive state where the houses were places for the sick to die.
(Taylor)
Roman sarcophagi and gravestones.
(British Museum)

Our journey will now travel briskly through time to the 19th Century.

St Thomas Hospital, London, rebuilt in 1871(photo take before the bombing of 1940) Directly across the Thames from St. Thomas' Hospital is the the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (I’m the one on the left synchronizing my watch)
St. Thomas's 'spital, founded in 1107, was originally a monastery hospital of St. Mary Overy Church. It is said to be the oldest hospital in London (unless you talk with someone from St. Bart's). Edward the VI reopened the hospital in 1552 after a 12 year closure by Henry VIII. The affiliation changed from St. Thomas a Becket (an obviously Catholic saint) to St. Thomas the Apostle (less offensive to the Church of England). However, both saints are recognized in its 1949 coat of arms.
(McInnes)
The most notable event in its distinguished history is the hiring of one young woman who changed the profession of nursing around the world...
Florence Nightingale

Florence received her education in Latin, Greek and Mathematics from her father. At the age of 17, she had a "calling from God" while caring for her family and servants during the "Influenza in London." She had visited the sick and the poor in their homes during her 20s with some inner dissatisfaction. "To visit them in a carriage and give them money is so little like following Christ, who made Himself like His brethren." Choosing to be a nurse was not an acceptable role for a gentle woman of her class.
(FN's Curriculum Vitae - July 24, 1851)

At the age of 34, after a year of unpaid duties in a London "establishment for gentlewomen during illness," her friend Sidney Herbert (the Secretary of War) requested Florence's help to aid the injured English soldiers of the Crimean War. By her actions Florence challenged the prejudices against women and elevated the status of nurses by improving the sanitation methods, improving record- keeping practices and by collecting statistical data on the healthcare provided. Prior to her arrival, more men were dying from care in the military hospital than on the battle field. In one year she managed to coordinate a nursing staff, gain the confidence of the military medical staff and most importantly, cut the mortality rate from 60% to 2%.
(Florence Nightingale Museum, London)
At the close of the war in 1860, she opened the Nightingale School and Home for Nurses at St. Thomas's Hospital with a fund raised in tribute to her loyal dedication to the servicemen of England. The school marked the beginning of professional education in nursing.
(Florence Nightingale Museum, London)
 "...do no harm."
(FN's timeless quote, is still used today in the nursing/medical profession).
The "Lady of the Lamp" - cared for the soldiers in Scutari long after the other nurses went to sleep.
(St. Thomas Hospital Entrance)
Memorial to Florence Nightingale.
(St. Paul's Cathedral, London)


St. Thomas Coat of Arms
The Nightingale bird on the right is in memory of the great nurse.
The Becket bird on the left and in the second quarter of the shield represents
St. Thomas a Becket for whom the hospital was originally named.
The spears in the crest represent St. Thomas the Apostle
who was speared to death.
(St. Thomas Hospital, London)
"God has led me by ways which I have not known...what I owe Him I can never tell in these few minutes."
(FN's Curriculum Vitae - July 24, 1851 at the age of 31)

Neither can I, Florence. Neither can I. How could I have ever dreamed that my education at Yavapai College, in the western United States, would include a journey to England to visit your "stomping" grounds and those of the nurses before us. Whatever is in store for me, I know that I have the historical knowledge of the mistakes in our profession, the foundation of your work and the courage of the 20th century nurses to continue to challenge the prejudices and the standards of the nursing profession.

Thank you.
Katie Windsor, 36
1st Year Nursing Student
Yavapai College, Prescott, Arizona, USA

(Final Project completed on May 12, 1997 - Florence's Birthday...she'd be 177)
P.S. Thank you, Dr. Doreen Dailey, Dean Kenneth Meier, the Yavapai College Governing Board and all others who have supported the Honors Program this year.
Bibliography:
Click here for HOT LINK to group picture and a few more shots of our trip to London, England.
(All original work done by Kate Windsor (remove "nospam" before sending)
HTML code added by Scott Windsor (remove "nospam" before sending)