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Contributor
Tate Archives & Special Collections
Contributor Institution
Illinois Wesleyan University
Creation Date
1937
Document Type
Pamphlet
Description
“National Hospital Day” is a pamphlet written by Macie N. Kapp to spread awareness to the Illinois Wesleyan student body on the important contributions nurses have made in the modern hospital landscape. Knapp, who was the Brokaw Hospital Superintendent at the time, wrote this pamphlet in observance of the 1937 National Hospital Day which takes place on May 12th. In this pamphlet, Knapp emphasizes how the implementation of Florence Nightingale’s values in the nursing field has improved the public attitude towards hospitals by making it a welcoming and reliable environment.
Primary Source Analysis
Macie N. Knapp, who was the superintendent of Brokaw Hospital at this time, saw an opportunity to spread awareness to the Illinois Wesleyan student body on the important contributions nurses have made in the modern hospital landscape during National Hospital Day on May 12th, 1937. She created this pamphlet with a strong emphasis on Florence Nightingale and the values she pursued during her time as a nurse. These christian values would be used to educate future nurses so that their pursuit of servitude towards the ill would be pure in its intent. Illinois Wesleyan nursing students would instill these values into their education by saying The Nightingale Pledge during commencement. This pledge highlights the gentleness and sympathy nurses must bring to medicine so that patients feel comfortable turning to hospitals during times of sickness. Florence Nightingale was a pioneer of the nursing field, providing care and comfort for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. Her approach to nursing aligned with Victorian Ideals of Femininity in which female nurses would uphold the standards of the white, christian woman. This entailed diligently following physicians orders and demanding obedience of her peers. One of her most notable contributions to the Crimean War was her campaign to improve sanitation and cleanliness in military and civilian hospitals. These concepts of the professional nurse and sanitary environments would later be taught in many nursing schools as a tribute to her success in rebuilding the nursing profession.
Knapp’s pamphlet highlights how these values created by Florence Nightingale directly impact modern hospitals due to the professionalism of nurses. She mentions how hospitals should be a distinctively christian institution influenced by the actions of Christ, similar to the ideals Nightingale would follow during her tenure as a nurse. Her pamphlet maintains the idea that educating future nurses with these concepts would continually improve the hospital environment, making it a more hospitable and welcoming place for the sick and injured. While nursing education has moved away from the Victorian Ideals of Femininity practiced by Nightingale, the impacts she made on sanitation and cleanliness can still be seen today.
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For rights information, contact Tate Archives & Special Collections at archives@iwu.edu.
Source
18-8/6 E. Lantz '41 - "National Hospital Day" by Macie N. Knapp