Quo Vadis? A question of historical awareness.

AIM: To emphasize the role of history in shaping clinical nursing identity and opportunities, and encourage nurses' contribution to the story of contemporary clinical nursing. APPROACH: Drawing upon history frameworks and approaches to history research, greater engagement of clinical nurses in recording nursing history is canvassed. A basic framework for developing historical research from practice narratives is suggested as a feasible option. OUTCOMES: Topics identified: a) nurses' awareness of their history and nursing's professional standing; b) the importance of oral history in nursing development; and c) digital influences on history research and constructing historical narratives. CONCLUSION: Clinical nurses' stories contribute to historical research. All nurses are responsible for gathering and distributing contemporary local narratives on clinical nursing. Oral history research provides a framework for nurses to record and share stories. IMPLICATIONS: Recorded history can prevent nursing from being trivialized or misrepresented. Missing accounts of contemporary nursing create gaps in our narrative and risk future professional disempowerment.

Enhancing relational care through expressions of gratitude: insights from a historical case study of almoner-patient correspondence.

This paper considers insights for contemporary medical practice from an archival study of gratitude in letters exchanged between almoners at London's Brompton Hospital and patients treated at the Hospital's tuberculosis sanatorium in Frimley. In the era before the National Health Service, almoners were responsible for assessing the entitlement of patients to charitable treatment, but they also took on responsibility for aftercare and advising patients on all aspects of welfare. In addition, a major part of the work of almoners at the Brompton was to record the health and employment status of former sanatorium patients for medical research. Of over 6000 patients treated between 1905 and 1963 that were tracked for the purposes of Medical Research Council cohort studies, fewer than 6% were recorded as 'lost to follow-up'-a remarkable testimony to the success of the almoners' strategies for maintaining long-term patient engagement. A longitudinal narrative case study is presented with illustrative examples of types of gratitude extracted from a corpus of over 1500 correspondents' letters. Patients sent money, gifts and stamps in gratitude for treatment received and for the almoners' ongoing interest in their welfare. Textual analysis of letters from the almoner shows the semantic strategies that position gratitude as central to the personalisation of an institutional relationship. The Brompton letters are conceptualised as a Maussian gift-exchange ritual, in which communal ties are created, consolidated and extended through the performance of gratitude. This study implicates gratitude as central to the willingness of former patients to continue to engage with the Hospital, sometimes for decades after treatment. Suggestions are offered for how contemporary relational healthcare might be informed by this unique collection of patients' and almoners' voices.

Essential Contributions of Pathologists and Laboratory Physicians Leading to the Discovery of Insulin.

CONTEXT.­: Frederick Banting, Charles Best, J. Bertrand Collip, and J. J. R. Macleod contributed to the discovery of insulin in 1921-1922. Recent advances in anatomic pathology, experimental pathology, and clinical pathology were necessary for the research in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to begin and to succeed. OBJECTIVE.­: To explore the role of pathology and laboratory medicine in laying the foundation for the discovery of insulin. DESIGN.­: Available primary and secondary historical sources were reviewed. RESULTS.­: During a 3-decade period, pathologists, through autopsy pathology and experimental animal studies, were able to provide solid evidence that the pancreatic islets were the source of the internal secretion responsible for proper carbohydrate metabolism. Banting, a surgeon with no previous research experience, read about these studies in a case report with an extensive literature review by pathologist Moses Barron; this piqued Banting's interest and caused him to approach Macleod, a Toronto physiology professor, with an idea that initiated the research. Advances in clinical laboratory medicine, which allowed them to measure blood glucose levels using small blood volumes, were critical to their success. CONCLUSIONS.­: By 1921-1922, the pieces necessary to solve the puzzle were available. The primary reason that the time was ripe for the discovery was the contributions of pathologists and laboratory physicians in the preceding 3 decades. As the 100th anniversary approaches, our profession can take pride in its important contributions to the discovery of insulin, which is broadly recognized as one of the most important medical research advances of the 20th century.

Dan Callahan's Press Clips.

For more than eleven years, I worked with Dan Callahan as an editor, a liaison with journalists, and a sounding board for ideas. To Dan, every new writing project was a thrill, whether it was for the New Republic or a blog. He consumed a wide range of professional and scholarly literature, followed the news with the eye of a reporter, and called experts when he wanted to learn more about something he had read. The result was a volcanic bubbling of story ideas. If he didn't turn them into articles or books, I sometimes had the feeling that he might burst.

Daniel Callahan and the Vocation of Bioethics.

Did Dan Callahan know the calling he was displaying in his own work and offering to others in the special intellectual garden of The Hastings Center, which he cocreated, with Will Gaylin, and went on to prune and tend for nearly four decades? I would say, yes, he knew what he was about. Successful people usually have self-confidence and drive in abundance, but in Dan's case, there was something more profound and interesting at work. Having gone through the endnotes of his latest book one day, I asked him how he found time to read so widely. He said he had learned to be an efficient skimmer who could pull out the nuggets he valued from another's work because he had a few magnetic ideas from which he would brook no distraction.

A Champion for the Unestablished.

As a student in bioethics, I knew that The Hastings Center and its founders were the height of excellence in this field, and therefore I found them both intimidating and intriguing. When I began working there, Dan Callahan was supportive of my endeavors to provide a venue for students and other young writers to express their views on bioethics. I started my own blog called Bioethx under 25 that featured short essays by anyone who wished to submit, generally individuals who had a genuine philosophical interest but were not yet at the level of pursuing a Ph.D. Dan's support of my project culminated in his sponsorship of the Daniel Callahan Young Writer's Prize, an essay contest run through the blog. This was one of the many ways he demonstrated that making theoretical contributions to bioethics should not be limited to a select few.

Crossing Boundaries.

I met Dan Callahan in 1986-when I came to pitch him. Coming from a sleek office setting near Boston, I was intrigued by The Hastings Center's higgledy-piggledy environment where so many smart people got to work in a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. I had noticed that the Center was producing a great deal of policy work on a wide range of topics but didn't seem to go further than publishing the highly valuable guidance developed under Dan Callahan's leadership. I ended my pitch, "Look, Dan, where Hastings gets bored and wants to go on to the next topic, my group in Boston gets interested." To my great pleasure, and despite his skepticism, Dan accepted the pitch. Beyond his generous responsiveness to unproven young people, Dan had many other virtues. For one, he was a boundary crosser.

Medical Ethics in Radiography.

The medical field often requires radiologic technologists to make complex decisions that affect patients, employers, and colleagues. Technologists must consider practice standards when making choices, and also must act ethically to protect patients' safety and respect their autonomy. To make the most informed and ethical decisions, technologists should know the history of medical ethics, as well as be familiar with philosophical tools and ethical codes that can guide them in their daily practice.

From Nuremberg to Guantanamo Bay: Uses of Physicians in the War on Terror.

Seventy years after the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial, health professionals and lawyers working together after 9/11 played a critical role in designing, justifying, and carrying out the US state-sponsored torture program in the CIA "Black Sites" and US military detention centers, including Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. We analyze the similarities between the Nazi doctors and health professionals in the War on Terror and address the question of how it happened that health professionals, including doctors, psychologists, physician assistants, and nurses, acted as agents of the state to utilize their medical and healing skills to cause harm and sanitize barbarous acts, similar to (though not on the scale of) how Nazi doctors were used by the Third Reich.

Associative organization of nursing: struggles for the social recognition of the profession (1943-1946).

OBJECTIVE:: To describe the circumstances that determine the creation of the Brazilian Association of Graduate Nurses of the Federal District Section and analyze its implications for the reorganization of the field of nursing. METHOD:: Qualitative, socio-historical, documentary study. The analysis generated the following category: Creation of a new group to guarantee unity: Brazilian Association of Graduate Nurses in the Federal District Section. RESULTS:: The economic crisis resulting from the Second World War, the creation of the Paulista Association of Graduate Nurses and the increase in the number of Schools of Nursing in the country were decisive for the Brazilian Association of Graduate Nurses to reformulate its statute as to guarantee its unit. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS:: The creation of the Federal District Section consisted of one of the strategies of the Association to reorganize the field of nursing, in order to ensure the recognition of the profession by the society. OBJETIVOS:: Descrever as circunstâncias que determinam a criação da Associação Brasileira de Enfermeiras Diplomadas Seção do Distrito Federal e analisar as implicações dessa criação para a reorganização do campo da enfermagem. MÉTODO:: Estudo qualitativo, sócio-histórico, documental. A análise gerou a seguinte categoria: Criação de um novo grupo para garantir a unidade: Associação Brasileira de Enfermeiras Diplomadas Seção do Distrito Federal. RESULTADOS:: A crise econômica, decorrente da Segunda Guerra Mundial, a criação da Associação Paulista de Enfermeiras Diplomadas e o aumento do número de escolas de enfermagem no país foram determinantes para que a Associação Brasileira de Enfermeiras Diplomadas reformulasse seu estatuto, de modo a garantir sua unidade. CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS:: A criação da Seção do Distrito Federal consistiu em uma das estratégias da associação para reorganizar o campo da enfermagem, de modo a assegurar o reconhecimento da profissão pela sociedade.

Associative organization of nursing: struggles for the social recognition of the profession (1943-1946) / Organización asociativa de la enfermería: luchas por el reconocimiento social de la profesión (1943-1946) / Organização associativa da enfermagem: lutas pelo reconhecimento social da profissão (1943-1946)

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe the circumstances that determine the creation of the Brazilian Association of Graduate Nurses of the Federal District Section and analyze its implications for the reorganization of the field of nursing. Method: Qualitative, socio-historical, documentary study. The analysis generated the following category: Creation of a new group to guarantee unity: Brazilian Association of Graduate Nurses in the Federal District Section. Results: The economic crisis resulting from the Second World War, the creation of the Paulista Association of Graduate Nurses and the increase in the number of Schools of Nursing in the country were decisive for the Brazilian Association of Graduate Nurses to reformulate its statute as to guarantee its unit. Final considerations: The creation of the Federal District Section consisted of one of the strategies of the Association to reorganize the field of nursing, in order to ensure the recognition of the profession by the society.

RESUMEN Objetivos: Describir las circunstancias que determinaron la creación de la Asociación Brasileña de Enfermeras Diplomadas Sección del Distrito Federal, y analizar las implicaciones del acto en la reorganización del área de enfermería. Método: Estudio cualitativo, sociohistórico, documental. El análisis generó la siguiente categoría: Creación de un nuevo grupo para garantizar la unidad: Asociación Brasileña de Enfermeras Diplomadas Sección del Distrito Federal. Resultados: La crisis económica determinada por la Segunda Guerra Mundial, la creación de la Asociación Paulista de Enfermeras Diplomadas y el incremento del número de escuelas de enfermería fueron determinantes para que la Asociación Brasileña de Enfermeras Diplomadas reformulase su estatuto, apuntando a garantizar su unidad. Consideraciones finales: La creación de la Sección del Distrito Federal consistió en una de las estrategias de la asociación para reorganizar el área de enfermería, de manera de asegurar el reconocimiento de la profesión por parte de la sociedad.

RESUMO Objetivos: Descrever as circunstâncias que determinam a criação da Associação Brasileira de Enfermeiras Diplomadas Seção do Distrito Federal e analisar as implicações dessa criação para a reorganização do campo da enfermagem. Método: Estudo qualitativo, sócio-histórico, documental. A análise gerou a seguinte categoria: Criação de um novo grupo para garantir a unidade: Associação Brasileira de Enfermeiras Diplomadas Seção do Distrito Federal. Resultados: A crise econômica, decorrente da Segunda Guerra Mundial, a criação da Associação Paulista de Enfermeiras Diplomadas e o aumento do número de escolas de enfermagem no país foram determinantes para que a Associação Brasileira de Enfermeiras Diplomadas reformulasse seu estatuto, de modo a garantir sua unidade. Considerações finais: A criação da Seção do Distrito Federal consistiu em uma das estratégias da associação para reorganizar o campo da enfermagem, de modo a assegurar o reconhecimento da profissão pela sociedade.

Pieter Van Foreest: The Physician as Writer on Surgery.

The Dutch physician Pieter Van Foreest (1520-97) included nine books of surgical observations among his large series of case-histories. Although he demanded that all physicians should have a knowledge of surgery, his writings show the limitations of his approach as well as the overlap between physicians and surgeons. Certain conditions were treated by both types of practitioner, but Foreest left invasive and manipulative side treatments to surgeons, while claiming the right as a physician to organise the overall treatment of the patient.

Rubbing Elbows and Blowing Smoke: Gender, Class, and Science in the Nineteenth-Century Patent Office.

The United States Patent Office of the 1850s offers a rare opportunity to analyze the early gendering of science. In its crowded rooms, would-be scientists shared a workplace with women earning equal pay for equal work. Scientific men worked as patent examiners, claiming this new occupation as scientific in opposition to those seeking to separate science and technology. At the same time, in an unprecedented and ultimately unsuccessful experiment, female clerks were hired to work alongside male clerks. This article examines the controversies surrounding these workers through the lens of manners and deportment. In the unique context of a workplace combining scientific men and working ladies, office behavior revealed the deep assumption that the emerging American scientist was male and middle class.