Blog
21
blog posts
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5 May 2026
Volunteering in the RCN Archives - the frequent journeys ‘Down a rabbit hole’
This blog reflects on the role of being a volunteer for several years in the RCN Archives, 42, South Oswald Road, Edinburgh. It looks at what it is like to volunteer in a department which is focused on preserving and enhancing the history of the RCN and the new skills which can be learned in this role.
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5 May 2026
Find the History of Nursing Forum at RCN Congress 2026
How members can meet our History of Nursing Forum voting member at Congress Victoria Sweetmore, attend our event and find out more about our Forum.
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13 Apr 2026
From the Archives: The voice of the expert?
This blog series delves into the oldest of the RCN’s historical book collection, exploring the ways in which nursing was taught in the past. ‘A Complete System of Nursing ‘and ‘Practical Nursing’ are two contrasting texts by a nurse and doctor ‘experts’ whose names would have been known to hundreds of aspiring nurses in the early 20th Century.
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1 Apr 2026
‘The Lady with the Lamp’ – how the 1950s Ladybird book shaped children’s perceptions of nursing.
This blog reflects on how the mid 20th-century Ladybird book on Florence Nightingale shaped a simplified, romanticised version of Nightingale’s story for generations of children. It argues the book reinforced narrow 1950s ideas about gender, class, and who counts in history, leaving out other notable nurses and presenting nursing as young women’s work.
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21 Jan 2026
From the Archives: Are nursing textbooks useful or wise?
This blog series will delve into the oldest of the RCN’s historical book collection, exploring the ways in which nursing was taught in the past. Herbert E Cuff’s 1896 ‘Lectures on Medicine to Nurses’ is one such example.
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21 Jan 2026
Wikipedia as a platform for engagement: widening public knowledge of Scottish nurses
In this blog Sue shares fascinating examples of some of the nurses she has ‘met’ through the ‘Nurses in Red’ project, with a focus on Scottish nurses.
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10 Nov 2025
Remembering nurses awarded the Royal Red Cross in World War Two for exceptional devotion and bravery
Over a thousand UK and Commonwealth nurses received the Royal Red Cross Award in World War Two. The citations for the award reveal their bravery but also the horrors of nursing in wars.
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9 Oct 2025
Reading’s private nursing service, 1873 to 1940
In keeping with other voluntary hospitals in the late nineteenth century the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH), Reading, introduced a private nursing service. At the time, these were a popular employment option for many nurses. This blog uses the archival records of the RBH to explore the scheme.
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10 Sep 2025
The untold story of nurses in infection prevention and control
The blog highlights nurses' often-overlooked role in pioneering infection prevention, from Florence Nightingale's data-driven reforms to Edna C. Morse's pioneering hand hygiene research. It shows their innovations remain crucial today for patient safety and antimicrobial stewardship.
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21 Aug 2025
Nursing the English from plague to Peterloo - 1660 - 1820
This Blog highlights a very important new book about early nursing history written by Allanah Tomkins, professor of social history. It gives new insight into nursing pre-Nightingale and helps challenge the dominant narrative that all pre-reform nurses were terrible.
