The conditions they worked in were terrible and they had barely any medication or tools to work with due to the scarcity of resources, difficulty of bringing them to the sites, and the fact that most of the diseases weren't even curable at that time, or very difficult to treat. Nurses of WWI worked from sun up to sun down, and barely got any sleep. However, this did not bother many nurses because they were so dedicated to their work and wanted the soldiers to be healed as soon as possible. "We had another air raid. This time the bombs were dropping all about us.
The extent of how the women nurses influenced the soldiers was well described in the book. This book gave the most detail on the different levels of aid the nurses
(Cochrane, 2004)This shows that this nurse had even more patients and people had started to realise the full effect of the war. In source 5, Nellie Morrice wrote home 'We are so tired when we get off duty that we just crawl into bed as soon as we can'. (Siers, 2013) This means that some nurses might not have been able to work to their full potential and provide life-saving health care. Maybe, this is why the death rates in hospitals were higher than on the battlefield.
However, in World War 2 nurses were usually near the battlefield so, it was easier for them to take care of the wounded people but this means that when the situation gets too dangerous, and their lives are at risk, they must be prepared to evacuate as quickly and safely. Here is a real-life example of nurses evacuating, in February 1942(world war 2), 65 Australian nurses of AANS (Australian Army Nurse Service) were evacuating the capture in Singapore by boarding the ship Vyner Brooke, just after two days Japanese bombed the ship and it sank near Bangka Island. Of the 65 Australian nurses aboard on the Vyner Brooke, 12 were killed during the Japanese force attack or drowned following the sinking, 21 were murdered on Radji Beach, and 32 became
He said that hot drinks and warm blankets were delivered to the battlefield by nurses. And that they saved more lives than doctors and drugs. (Orange city council, 2014) However what motivated these nurses to join the war ranged from craving adventure to some wanting to broaden their knowledge and also from feeling patriotism for their nation to some just seeking independence.
Machine guns and poisonous gas were two new weapons used heavily during the war, along with the use of trench warfare. The weapons were more deadly than in previous wars, which caused the medical technology to lag behind. The medical staff was inexperienced to the new injuries caused by the modern weapons and the clinic had inadequate amounts of supplies to properly treat patients. The lack of funds used to supply the medical equipment caused many soldiers to go untreated which either amplified their injuries or caused death. For example, Kemmerich would have had a higher chance of surviving his leg amputation if there were modern medical techniques and supplies available.
Every hospital matron was allocated ten nurses to help the sick and wounded soldiers. The surgeons performed most the skilled medical tasks. The nurses helped in bathing the patients, feeding them, emptying the chamber pots, cooking, cleaning the wards and other custodial works. In the course of the duty, these women nurses always came up with new inventions for treating the soldiers (Perica 8).
“World War II also saw advances in medical technology. Penicillin was not invented during the war, but it was first mass produced during the war, the key to making it available to millions of people” (Mindell). The invention of penicillin greatly reduced diseases and helped save many lives. Advancements in blood transfusions greatly helped save troops
Elizabeth Norman's book We Band of Angels is about how American Navy nurses helped people and soldiers in WWII. When the Japanese dropped bombs on American base in 1941, the women were in a jungle in Bataan. They had energy and capacity as they set up their hospitals in the jungle. Soon, the wounded and sick started filling up the jungle hospitals, and food began to run to out. After the troops surrendered Bataan to the Japanese, the nurses were taken to Corregidor, where they help soldiers in an underground hospital.
Medicine was not knowledge at the time and often led soldiers to spread illness rather
Medical Innovations of World War II During World War II, as the men went off to the battles, women stayed and made many advancements in technologies, weapons, and also health care. Health care changed significantly during the war and changed the history of medicine forever. There were changes in nursing, blood research, and findings of needed vaccinations to help wounded soldiers. During the war, the fascination of medical breakthroughs was a big point of interest; many doctors and researchers experimented to learn more about the human body. Many experiments changed the study of medicine forever such as experiments on injured soldiers; these practices and the need for medicine during the war caused new innovations and a new approach to medicine.
Medicine slowly became more advanced throughout the war. “Ambulances, antiseptic, and anesthesia, were three elements of medicine emerged from depths of suffering in World War 1,” (Hampton ellen). Soldiers that were wounded often died from infection due to not enough advances and experience in the medical field. However, Henry Dakin, a british biochemist, “...perfected a solution of sodium hypochlorite, which killed dangerous bacteria without burning flesh,” (Hampton Ellen). His technique became known as the “Carrel-Dakin method” and doctors across Europe adopted his technique during the war.
The North camps were poor and were made up of strangers who did not know much about the medical side of war. However, the South was more advanced in medicine, but they had less resources. According to Intisar K. Hamidullah, “with the advancement of medicine, treatment, prevention, and vaccinations the impacts of these diseases are not as harmful today as during the Civil War..” This quote showcases the advancements of medicines in the United States. Some of the common medicines were anesthesia, chloroform, and sulfuric ether. Anesthesia was used for amputations and hurt very badly.
1 Diseases Today I want to tell you about the diseases in World War one. Many of those diseases led to the dead of the soldiers because they had little knowledge and medicine. The conditions in the trenches were horrible. Little foot and fresh water, living in wet trenches, no medical care were the cause of those diseases: Trench foot, trench fever, gas, trench mouth, venereal diseases... Soldiers were sick, hungry and were exposure to the elements of nature.
