We Salute the Nurses of the World!

WWII Nurse Corps Recruitment Poster

Join us at Tiger Medical Supplies as we honor the month of May, a month loaded with days dedicated to the devoted individuals in the nursing profession. National Nurses’ Day (also known as National RN Recognition Day) is observed on May 6^th, kicking off Nurses’ Week, which includes National School Nurse Day (May 11^th) and culminates in International Nurses’ Day (May 12^th). The entire month of May is considered Oncology Nurses’ Month. This month is the perfect time to celebrate your employees, your personal nurse, your nurse friends and/or family members, or yourself, if you are dedicated to the demanding, often thankless profession; May is the month to applaud yourself for your achievements and caring. Even student nurses are recognized – May 8^th is National Student Nurses’ Day, encouraging those who are training for this noble endeavor.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran of the nursing field or a student in your first week of nursing school, you know that the career you have chosen is not necessarily an easy or relaxing one, but has the potential to be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. For hundreds of years, loyal nurses committed to helping people have made history, transforming the face of healthcare, wars, and even entire countries. They have fought for their beliefs and created nationwide – even worldwide – organizations to change the world for the better.

Aside from being considered the most famous nurse in history – her name is, in fact, synonymous with nursing in general – Florence Nightingale, an English nurse in the 1800s, is considered to be the founder of modern nursing. Known as “The Lady with the Lamp” due to her tendency to do rounds at night, Nightingale was lauded as a hero for her care of wounded soldiers during the Crimean War in the mid-19^th century. After the war, she was the first to establish a formal nursing school in London. Consequently, many facets of nursing are named or dedicated in her honor: new nurses take the Nightingale Pledge, the nurses’ version of the Hippocratic Oath; the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery that she founded is still operating today at King’s College; several buildings and hospitals bear her name; a Florence Nightingale Medal is awarded biennially by the Red Cross to exceptional nurses; and International Nurses’ Day is celebrated on May 12^th, Nightingale’s birthday. She was an incredibly accomplished in many areas of life besides nursing; she was a gifted statistician and a celebrity in the women’s movement, defying her family’s and society’s low expectations and becoming a legendary historical figure.

During the same approximate time period, the wounded of the American Civil War were cared for by several famous people, some of whom are known for other facets of their lives but in fact gave of their time and wellbeing to the nursing field. The First Lady of the United States herself, Mary Todd Lincoln, spent much of her time as First Lady  visiting wounded Union soldiers, bringing them gifts and helping them write letters to their families. Although she was technically not a nurse, she is often identified as one due to her selfless dedication to the sick and wounded. Similarly, the renowned American poet Walt Whitman served as a volunteer nurse during the Civil War. While he had not received formal nursing training prior to the war and is known primarily for his poetry, he attributes his experience alongside the battlefield as the inspiration behind at least two of his works, The Great Army of the Sick and Memoranda During the War, which poignantly tell the tale of the gruesome casualties of war and the devoted nurses committed to caring for them.

Another well-known nurse rose to fame due to the Civil War and her involvement. Clarissa “Clara” Barton, like Florence Nightingale, broke free of the stereotypical life expected of her to become someone extraordinary. She began by supplying the army with bandages, food, clothing, and other commodities necessary for treating the injured. As the war raged on, Clara was given permission to treat patients on the front lines, eventually being promoted to the “lady in charge” of the battlefield hospitals. Her tenacity, coupled with dramatic exploits in the thick of the war, earned her the moniker of Angel of the Battlefield. The nickname, however, does not do her humanitarian efforts justice; after the war, she became an activist for women’s suffrage and black civil rights, assisted nurses and medical associations in other warring or otherwise devastated countries, and founded the American Red Cross at the age of sixty. Two published works and dozens of schools, streets, historical sites, and other places throughout the country bear her name. She is the ultimate embodiment of a nurse; driven, compassionate, and loyal to helping others.

 For well over a century, nurses have been considered a mainstay during war and other turbulent time. The Army Nurse Corps, established in 1901, is comprised of a dedicated group of registered nurses who put their own lives at risk to help others. Doctors Without Borders travel with nurses as well, who work just as hard and deserve as much recognition as the doctors. As General Dwight Eisenhower eloquently said of the nurses of World War II:

Any words by me would be inadequate to pay proper tribute to the American nurses and to the work that they are doing here and elsewhere. From Bataan to Normandy, the contributions of American women serving as nurses in our Army have spoken for themselves. One needs only to talk with the wounded or witness our nurses at work in the field and in hospitals to realize that they are taking their places alongside the greatest women in the history of our country. Nothing stops them in their determination to see that our troops receive the best attention humanely possible.

ADC Proscope

Nursing students deserve applause for the choice they have made. Now that you or a loved one has chosen to embark on the path to the noble profession of nursing, it is important to know exactly what is necessary for success in nursing school and the future career. Nurses must possess patience, devotion, selflessness, and caring for others in order to thrive. They must be prepared to weather challenging patients as well as superiors with a positive attitude; to encounter unpleasant situations and handle them with aplomb; and to find the meaning and intrinsic rewards that come with the job. The physical supplies – stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, penlight, scissors, and medical scrubs – must be of excellent quality, but they will only complete their duty when handled by the consummate professional – the faithful nurse.

We at Tiger Medical Supplies salute the nurses of the world for the work that they so selflessly perform to make the world a better place. See our site for deals dedicated to those who dedicate their lives to others!