Introduction to Chapter 3

It is very interesting to see how the medical field was back during the Civil War. The way sanitation and uncleanliness was had a major impact on how fast and often soldiers became sick and the spreading of diseases. This time period was when people began to see the need for cleanliness and sanitizing, when dealing with a sick person. Florence Nightingale made arguments that the presence of wounded infections is the best measurement of the effectiveness of a hospital. Nightingale stated, “ The poison that created the infected wound moved from bed to bed if the hospital was dirty, if it was poorly ventilated, or if the men were poorly fed and cared for.” When reading the previous quote, it made me realize how the men really were poorly taken care of and would thing have been different if a woman was caring for them. Many of the doctors and caregivers were men; women generally worked as servants. In class we discuss how women (servants) sought out to become the idea of being a nurse.