Nursing- Legacy: History of Nursing
Created by Health Science Librarians
History of Nursing
This guide will direct you to some general resources on the history of the nursing profession, as well as some documents that the Health Sciences Library has in our special collections. If you're doing a project or a paper on this topic, these resources will help you get started, and direct you to other resources as well. You can also find more books on the topic by searching the UNC Online Catalog. If you're having trouble finding what you need, come by the Health Sciences Library or use the HSL's Ask a Librarian page. We'll be happy to help!
General Sources on Nursing History
UNC has all of these books in our libraries, some online as well as in print. They provide good overviews of the history of nursing practice.
Routledge Handbook on the Global History of Nursing by ISBN: 9780203488515Publication Date: 2013-01-01- History As Evidence byISBN: 9780826105776Publication Date: 2010-09-01
- Men in Nursing byISBN: 0826102212Publication Date: 1957-01-01
- Nursing Before Nightingale 1815-1899 byISBN: 9781409423133Publication Date: 2011-11-28
- Black Women in White byISBN: 0253205298Publication Date: 1989-10-01
- Historical Encyclopedia of Nursing byISBN: 1576070867Publication Date: 1999-10-25
- Nursing, the Finest Art byISBN: 0815127278Publication Date: 1995-12-01
- Enduring Issues in American Nursing byISBN: 0826113737Publication Date: 2000-12-01
- A Biographical Dictionary of Women Healers byISBN: 157356219XPublication Date: 2002-05-30
Nurse Biographies
The UNC libraries have many biographies of well-known or important figures in nursing history, and quite a few nurses have published their own memoirs and stories, as well. Here are just a few of these books--to find more, search the library catalog for "nurse biographies" or something similar.
- The Frontier Nursing Service byISBN: 0786433426Publication Date: 2008-12-17
- American Nightingale byISBN: 0743477588Publication Date: 2004-06-01
- 'For Us It Was Heaven' byISBN: 1845195140Publication Date: 2012-03-01
- The Indomitable Gertrude Green byISBN: 0828024995Publication Date: 2010-01-01
- Florence Nightingale byISBN: 0374156654Publication Date: 2008-10-14
- A Strong-Minded Woman byISBN: 1558495134Publication Date: 2005-11-01
- Mary Seacole byISBN: 078671414XPublication Date: 2004-11-19
- East Texas Daughter byISBN: 087565276XPublication Date: 2003-09-01
- With the Armies of the Tsar byISBN: 0815410905Publication Date: 2000-10-30
- Mary Eliza Mahoney and the Legacy of African American Nurses byISBN: 0791080293Publication Date: 2004-09-01
- Reaching Past the Wire byISBN: 9780873516068Publication Date: 2007-09-01
Ask Us
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Credits
Guide authored by Chana Kraus-Friedberg
UNC Special Collections
- Florence Nightingale LettersThe Health Science Library Digital Collections include a few of Florence Nightingale's letters online.
- HSL North Carolina History of Health Digital CollectionThis collection includes digitizations of several publications and documents relevant to the history of nursing in North Carolina, including especially Tar Heel Nurse (from 1939-present) and North Carolina League of Nursing News (1953-1968). We also have reports from the Annual Convention of the North Carolina State Nurses’ Association for most years between 1946 and 1969.
Journals
These two journals are dedicated specifically to the history of nursing.
Databases
These are databases you can access through the UNC libraries with your Onyen. They include short biographies and articles about well-known figures--including many nurses.
- Oxford African American Studies CenterCombines a rich array of historical and cultural information about the African American experience with selected primary documents, web sites, and maps. The material is compiled by Oxford University Press from their many reference works, such as Africana, Encyclopedia of African American History, various Oxford Companions, and the African American National Biography.
Websites
These websites contain quite a bit of information on nursing history, and many will direct you to additional web resources on the topic.
- American Association for the History of NursingThis website features some limited online collections, and good bibliographic resources.
- North Carolina Nursing HistoryThis is a website run by Appalachian State University. They have some oral histories and biographies, as well as a timeline and annotated bibliography.
- Nursing History and Health Policy BlogThis is run through Penn’s school of nursing—it’s a series of curated essays with additional resources like a timeline and images. It’s fairly Philadelphia-centric, but offers a good overview of the history of nursing in the US.
- National Library of Medicine: History of Medicine DivisionThe NLM hosts revolving digital collections on their site, all of which are in some way related to medicine. Some are specifically nursing-centric.
- Library of Congress: Oral Histories of Army NursesThis collection offers about 10 oral histories of army nurses' experiences, ranging from World War II to the Persian Gulf War. You can access video/audio of the interviews, as well as read the transcripts. Some of the interviews have associated images and records as well.
- History of African American NursesThis LibGuidefocuses specifically on well-known African-American nurses. It has links to websites, bibliographies, and some images.
- Nursing Hall of FameThe American Nurses Association honors nurses who have changed the profession in important ways. On their website, you can see short biographies of the nurses who have been inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame.
