Ways Women Became Nurses
Females started to become involved in the profession of nursing in a variety of different ways
- Over 3,000 were estimated to become nurses during the Civil War
- Women responded to newspaper articles advertising the dire need for nurses
- Most women had to pass through the harsh rules and regulations of Dorothea Dix, the superintendent of all female nurses
- Other common ways to become a nurse were following a male family member into battle or going through an aid society or church group
- Superintendent of all female nurses Dorothea Dix stated what the ideal female nurse would be, "Matronly persons of experience, good conduct, or superior education and serious disposition, will always have preference; habits of neatness, order, sobriety, and industry, are prerequisites."