WHY DID NURSES BECOME NURSES AND WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS AND OBSTACLES OF THEIR HARD WORK?
Nursing at war was a
harrowing job. However was a job that women volunteered for for many
different reasons, including:
- So they felt like they could contribute to the protection of their country in a different way to being a soldier (as women were not allowed to become soldiers).
- Jobs were scarce at that time, so women found it as a way to produce an income.
- Women found it as a way to give back to the community (many sisters and nuns joined to become nurses for that reason).
Nursing was not only a difficult and dangerous job, the effects of the jobs and experiences constantly brought upsetting thoughts upon the nurses. As the nurses had to work extremely hard all the time, they did not not have any time to themselves, which brought bouts of depression and other mental health issues upon them. However, they knew that the had to stay strong and that their emotional “shell” could not break as they were the emotional stability for the soldiers as well, who had to fight and risk their lives even more than the nurses. The nurses found it selfish to complain about themselves, when there were soldiers out there fighting for their lives and for the pride of their country.
Through this we can conclude that nurses did have mental health issues from becoming nurses, and that they had no choice but to try and overcome these obstacles in different ways.
- So they felt like they could contribute to the protection of their country in a different way to being a soldier (as women were not allowed to become soldiers).
- Jobs were scarce at that time, so women found it as a way to produce an income.
- Women found it as a way to give back to the community (many sisters and nuns joined to become nurses for that reason).
Nursing was not only a difficult and dangerous job, the effects of the jobs and experiences constantly brought upsetting thoughts upon the nurses. As the nurses had to work extremely hard all the time, they did not not have any time to themselves, which brought bouts of depression and other mental health issues upon them. However, they knew that the had to stay strong and that their emotional “shell” could not break as they were the emotional stability for the soldiers as well, who had to fight and risk their lives even more than the nurses. The nurses found it selfish to complain about themselves, when there were soldiers out there fighting for their lives and for the pride of their country.
Through this we can conclude that nurses did have mental health issues from becoming nurses, and that they had no choice but to try and overcome these obstacles in different ways.
"WE HAD NO CHOICE, WE JUST HAD TO TAKE EVERY OBSTACLE THAT WAS THROWN AT US" - Sister Marie, ANZAC Nurse