[Men in the history of nursing]. / Männer in der Geschichte der Krankenpflege. Zum Stand einer Forschungslücke.

In German historiography the history of men in nursing is still a desideratum. While for female nurses considerable research has been done, the historiographic gaps in men's nursing comprise many periods and almost all subjects. The article concentrates on desiderata in the German historiography of nursing and shows after presenting a survey of the research literature, topics and research questions as well as sources which have not been analyzed yet. However, the history of female nursing is partly quite well investigated. This gives the opportunity for comparative analyzes. As since the middle of the 19th century nursing is perceived as a female occupation an examination of men in this area can help to sharpen the gender perspective.

["Practical tuberculosis care outside the hospital stands and falls with the tuberculosis nurse". Challenges in out-patient care, using the example of tuberculosis nurses in the first third of the 20th century]. / "Die praktische Aussenarbeit in der Tuberkulosefürsorge steht und fällt mit der Tuberkulosefürsorgeschwester". An- forderungen in der ambulanten Versorgung: Das Beispiel der Tuberkulosefürsorgerinnen im ersten Drittel des 20. Jahrhunderts.

Once it had become apparent that tuberculosis sanatoriums were unable to stop this widespread disease, out-patient tuberculosis clinics were established for patients and their relatives in the German Reich. These clinics, which started in the late nineteenth century, employed physicians and tuberculosis nurses. The nurses were generally community or parish nurses, specialized carers not being trained until later. On the one hand, their tasks included the work at these clinics, where they assisted the physician, admitted patients and carried out x-rays and lab tests. On the other hand--and this was their main task--they visited the sick and their families at home, informed them about tuberculosis, instructed them on questions of hygiene and the appropriate behaviour and made sure these instructions were adhered to. If they were able to offer material help as well, they were received more willingly--and they could only make their visits with a patient's consent. Due to the lack of tuberculosis medicines, the work of the tuberculosis nurses was a mainstay in the fight against this highly infectious disease. They often had to overcome the resistance of general practitioners and also of some patients and their families. But they loved doing their job because they were appreciated by the tuberculosis doctors, had a relatively high degree of freedom, authority and responsibility as health visitors and achieved visible results through personal commitment.

[Problems arising from the professionalization of nursing in the German Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century compared to the USA. A contribution to the current discussion]. / Probleme der Verberuflichung der Krankenpflege im Deutschen Reich Ende des 19., Anfang des 20. Jahr- hunderts im Vergleich mit den Vereinigten Staaten-- Ein Diskussionsbeitrag.

The process of professionalization in Germany was hindered by several factors: the tradition of denominational nursing, the increasing segregation in the field of nursing, the resistance against nurses' professionalization, the late and sporadic institutionalization of nursing schools, and the classification of nursing as "ärztlicher Heilhilfsberuf". On the basis of these five influencing factors this paper will discuss the development in Germany in comparison to the USA at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The aim is to explain the differences in the process of professionalization in the German Reich and the USA which are rooted in that period.

["I would have liked to speak with the physicians about it but they waved me aside ..."letters to "Nature and Medicine" 1992-1996]. / "Ich habe ofter mit den Arzten darüiber sprechen wollen, doch die winken ab...". Briefe an "Natur und Medizin" zwischen 1992 und 1996.

The correspondence of the society "Nature and Medicine" (Fördergemeinschaft "Natur und Medizin") between the years 1992 and 1996 is kept in the Institute for the History of Medicine of the Robert Bosch Foundation in Stuttgart. It offers the possibility to analyse the common medical culture of patients who have an interest in alternative medicine. After a short characterisation of the society itself, the letters are analysed in respect to the figures of correspondents, that of the addressees, and the reasons voiced by both for writing in the first place. The various experiences of the writers with the medical market are then discussed and the patient's expectations as enounced to the addressee are developed. In short, these documents represent an invaluable source for a social history from the point of view of patients. In particular, they show--beyond the implicit criticism of academic medicine--what meanings and values lay medical culture endorses in everyday life.