Conference report - International perspectives in the history of nursing, 14–15 September 2010

One of the largest international conferences in the discipline of nursing history was held this autumn in the grand surroundings of Royal Holloway, University of London, in Egham, Surrey. Ruth Davies was there and sends this report.

Hosted by the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, Kingston University, and St George’s University of London, this wide-ranging conference was jointly organised by the American Association for the History of Nursing and the European Nursing History Group. It was a new collaboration consisting of the UK Centre for the History of Nursing and Midwifery, the Irish Centre for Nursing and Midwifery History, Kingston University, St George’s, University of London, the RCN History of Nursing Society and the RCN Heritage Committee.

Delegates were treated to a host of events. These began the day before with evensong at St Paul’s to celebrate the life and work of Florence Nightingale, followed by a reception at the Florence Nightingale Museum.

There are too many highlights to refer to individually, but principal among these must be the presentation by Mark Bostridge entitled A Florence Nightingale for the 21st century, the film night showing of The lady with a lamp starring Anna Neagle – which readers will be interested to know received a round of applause at the end – and the awards ceremony held in the impressive Founders Building. This included the Monica Baly presentations – read
about the winners’ projects on pages two and three.

Hard to choose

The conference programme itself was packed with plenary and concurrent sessions by many well-known nurse historians from around the world. The range of topics was scintillating and it was not easy to choose between which to attend and which to miss. Perhaps some of the most moving presentations were those that covered nursing in war and included accounts and narratives by nurses who served in South Africa, Gallipoli, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Other presentations on the role of nurses in polio, flu and fever epidemics or in leprosy colonies highlighted the real dangers associated with nursing practice in peacetime as well as war.

The scope of research activity was wide-ranging, covering topics as diverse as the history of individual nurse pioneers, missionary nurses, a local cottage nursing association and midwifery care in 1930s England. While many of these presentations were based on ongoing academic research or taken from doctoral theses, this was balanced by equally well-researched presentations from nurses who are enthusiastic amateur nurse historians.

This was a conference to remember, not only for the quality of the presentations but also for the passion and commitment shown by those attending, and the friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The organisers are to be congratulated on a first-class conference.