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The Renaissance and the Reformation (occurring from the 14th through the 16th centuries) followed the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, also known as the Age of Discovery, a new impetus was given to education, and, to some extent, to medical education. For example, Ambroïse Paré (1510–1590), a French surgeon, revived the method of tying blood vessels to stop hemorrhaging, believing that procedures based on acute observation were better than those based on ancient doctrines. Andreas Vesalium (1514–1564) published a treatise of surgery and anatomy that refuted the teachings of Galen, who up to that point had been the undisputed authority on medicine. Nursing education, however, was all but nonexistent during this period. The Reformation, a religious movement inspired by the work of Martin Luther, began in Germany in 1517. It resulted in a revolt against the supremacy of the Pope and the formation of Protestant churches across Europe. Monasteries were closed, religious orders were dissolved, and the work of women in these orders became almost extinct. The Reformation brought about a change in the role of women. The Protestant Church, which stood for freedom of religion and thought, did not grant much freedom to women. During the Reformation, women were deemed subordinate to men and were no longer venerated by their churches, but encouraged toward charitable activities. Their role was defined within the confines of the home; their duties were those of bearing children and caring for the home. Work in hospitals no longer appealed to women of high birth. Hospital care was relegated to uncommon women, a group comprising prisoners, prostitutes, and drunks. Women faced with earning their own living were forced to work as domestic servants; although nursing was considered a domestic service, it was not a desirable one. The nurse was regarded as the most menial of servants. Pay was poor, the hours were long, and the work was strenuous. Nursing care was not subject to inspection and was not governed by standards. The same bed linen might be used for several patients, even though suppurating wounds were common. Thus began what may be called the “Dark Ages” of nursing. Charles Dickens (1936) described the image of nurses and nursing during this time through the characters of Sairey Gamp and Betsy Prig in his book Martin Chuzzlewit, which was written in 1843: (continue reading…)

Far from Greece and Rome where western civilization had developed, the Islamic society was developed in the Mideast. In an area known today as Saudi Arabia, nomadic people, living primarily in tribes, struggled for existence on the arid desert of Arabia, while oasis settlements relied on agriculture. Large numbers of people traveled to Mecca (Makkah) to visit the Ka’abah, the House of God built by the Prophet Abraham, which, at that time, housed numerous idols belonging to the inhabitants of the city and to tribes. About 400 A.D., Mecca became a trading center (Peck, 2002). The Prophet Muhammad was born in Makkah in 570 A.D. At about age 40, he began to preach a religion that would later be identified by the name “Islam.” His preachings were not well received by the people of Mecca; Muhammad and his small group of followers endured persecution and in the year 622 A.D., were forced to emigrate to the city of Madinah (once known as Yathrib), located 260 miles to the north. This migration (Hijrah) marked the beginning of a new era and also the beginning of the Muslim calendar. The city had abundant water supplies, which nourished dates and vegetables, and became a reprovisioning point for caravans traveling from the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula along the Red Sea to Syria and Egypt. As the religion grew, mosques were built for worshipers. The first was established at Quba; another adjacent to Muhammad’s house soon became the social and economic center of the city. Muhammad spent 8 years strengthening the Islamic community and warding off aggressors. (continue reading…)

The monastic orders also developed during this period, including the order of Benedictines, which still exists. The monasteries played a large role in the preservation of culture and learning, as well as in offering refuge to the persecuted, care to the sick, and education to the uneducated. By joining a monastic order, young men and women were able to follow the career of their choice while living a Christian life. The learning of the classical period would have been lost when the Roman Empire fell were it not for the monks and monasteries. One of the earliest organizations for men in nursing, the Parabolani brotherhood, was established at this time. Responding to the needs created by the Black Plague, this group reportedly organized a hospital and traveled throughout Rome caring for the sick. At the same time, monastic nurses such as the famous St. Brigid (an abbess in Ireland known for her healing of the lepers), St. Scholastica (a twin sister of St. Benedict), and St. Hilda, founded schools, tended to the sick, and gave to the poor (Donahue, 1996). During this period (approximately 50 A.D. to 800 A.D.), the first hospitals were established, usually as a part of a nearby monastery that included grain fields, gardens, orchards, farm buildings, and eventually schools, in addition to the church. Many of these hospitals are still standing. There were more than 700 hospitals in England by the middle of the 16th century. The Hôtel Dieu in Lyons was established in 542 and the Hôtel Dieu in Paris around 652. The Hôtel Dieu in Paris was staffed by the first order specifically devoted to nursing, the Augustinian Sisters (Kalisch & Kalisch, 1995). The Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome, the largest medieval hospital, was established by papal order in 717 (Donahue, 1999). (continue reading…)