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Category: #DiscoverYourLibrary

A (very) brief history of nursing and midwifery in the NHS

2020 is the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Year of the Nurse and Midwife and as part of our celebrations, CCCU Libraries are writing a series of blogs. We have so far looked at two significant figures in the history of nursing, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, and today we are using the library’s online resources to explore the history of nursing in the UK within one of our most precious institutions, the National Health Service (NHS). As a university we are so very proud of our nursing and midwifery students and graduates and recent global events have reinforced just how vital they are and how much appreciation they deserve.

Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole

Our last blog for the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Year of the Nurse and Midwife focused on Florence Nightingale and her innovative use of statistics and visual data representations in her work as a nurse and public health campaigner. Today we are using CCCU’s online library resources to take a look at a figure whose story runs alongside Nightingale’s but who has often been overlooked in historical narratives of the Crimean War and Victorian nursing: Mary Seacole.

King Stephen and the Kentish Market Town

“You may be wondering reading this blog, thinking to yourself what on earth does a Kentish Market town and a King of England have in common? Well let me tell you… I am from a small market town in Kent called Faversham; a small, tranquil and uneventful town” – In this blog second year history student, Josh Geary, reveals the facts about Faversham’s fascinating royal connections as discovered through the library and online resources.

Florence Nightingale: The Lady With the…Pie Chart?

Next month, 12th May to be precise, sees the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale. With the construction of the NHS’s COVID-19 critical care field hospitals, known as Nightingale hospitals in England, the legacy of ‘the lady with the lamp’ is as relevant and prevalent as ever. In addition to this bicentenary, 2020 is the World Health Organisation’s ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ so a look at Nightingale’s life and work feels especially relevant. While she is regarded by many as the founder of modern nursing, what is perhaps less well known is her prowess as a mathematician and statistician. Indeed, she was a pioneer in the visual presentation of information, displaying data through means that were at the time truly novel.