Analysis Of The Nurse's Secret By Amanda Skenandore

The Downfall of Independence

Karsen Rees
History/English Department, Otto-Eldred High School
HIS110: US History II
Dr. Snow
April 24, 2023 The Downfall of Independence Throughout life, every person is allowed the chance to explore the limits of independence. Amanda Skenandore heavily focused on this idea throughout her novel, The Nurse’s Secret. This novel began in the Gilded Age tenements of New York, then traveled to the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing. Skenandore established that even though independence promotes growth, it offers a dangerous downfall. Throughout her book, she used accurate historical background, captivating characters, and an engaging plot to effectively communicate her position on the limits of independence.

“The Nurse’s Secret” is a dark one, that if known would have prevented Una from getting an interview at Bellevue, one of America’s first nursing schools. Una had more than a decade of surviving in the tenements of New York City, which taught her how to read people and judge how to get her way. Bellevue acted as a place for her to hide after being framed by a friend for murder. A magazine advertisement gave Una the information about the nursing school, and although she had no interest in the job, she knew it would get her off the street long enough for the cops to move on. Plus, she saw it as an opportunity to create a whole new scamming life by being a private duty nurse, welcomed into the homes of the rich. As Una worked hard to keep her spot in Bellevue, she was befriended by her roommate and found herself in a secret fling with one of the doctors. She discovered early on that despite the blood, gore, and hefty work, she enjoyed helping patients feel better, yet she suspected that the killer from the slums is still active, and close

Throughout the novel, Skenandore brings in nineteenth-century medical practice, allowing the reader to utterly understand the evolution of the medical field. She wrote her story based on the nursing principles championed by Florence Nightingale. Nightingale is known as the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale’s theory of nursing is, “the nurse must use her brain, heart, and hands to create healing environments to care for the patient's body, mind, and spirit” (Riegel et al., 2021). These principles called for strict rules of hygiene and cleanliness, which Skenandore wrote about substantially. She also included Nightingale’s idea that all of the nurses on the floor should be under the supervision of another woman, who was in charge of all of the nursing services (Foundation of New York State Nurses, 2020). Nightingale’s nursing principles are still taught and practiced today. Additionally, her accuracy of the period allowed the reader to experience the struggles of being poor and living in tenements during the nineteenth century. Skenandore wrote, “Old paint peeled from the walls, and holes gaped in the plaster” (Skenandore, 2022, p. 26) to explain the conditions Una was living in. She wrote her characters to judge the slums and even called them dangerous. Because of her portrayal of the slums, Una was presented as a struggling young woman, which was quite common in the period the book was