The Importance of Field Nurses in The First World War in Australian History

Good Morning! My name is Ayla Adams. Today I will talk about the importance and significance of field nurses in the First World War in Australian history. The topics that I will be covering today are what Australian women were doing before the start of World War 1, what nurses were doing during the war, and what nurses were doing after the war, and how they are different from nurses today.

Before World War One started in 1914, Australian women were expected to manage their homes and look after their children. They also worked in the printing industries, in personal, domestic services, as lower professional shop assistants, and as clerical and related workers. (Roles of Australian Women in World War 1, 2014). Some worked in manufacturing and agricultural positions, as switchboard operators, and stock takers. (Women in World War I/National World War I Museum and Memorial, 2021). Nurses in World War 1 weren’t allowed to be married and have a husband; they were also required to do 3 years of training before joining the war, and they had to be between the ages of 25 to 40. They had to serve during the whole of the war unless they married or became seriously injured. (Centenary of ANZAC – Women and World War 1, 2021). The qualifications given to nurses were being a part of the army; they were commissioned personnel and were appointed by the Surgeon General. (Contributions of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in WWI, 2021).

During World War 1, the roles of Australian women changed over time. They lived in flimsy tents in freezing conditions at times and travelled to many countries such as Germany, England, India, Greece, and France.

They mainly worked for the Australian Army Nursing Service. (Australian Army Nursing Service in World War 1, 2021). Records from the Australian Army Nursing Service show that nearly 2861 nurses worked overseas. Out of the 2861 nurses, around 25 nurses working with the Australian Army Nursing Service died for their service in the war. (Australian Army Nursing Service in World War 1, 2021).

Nurses were awarded with the military medal. (Great War Nurses/Australian War Memorial, 2021). Some other medals were the Service Medal, which got awarded to 24 nurses, the British Royal Red Cross, which got awarded to 69 nurses, the Service Cross, which got awarded to 2 nurses, and the Navy Cross, which got awarded to 4 nurses. (Nursing and Medicine During World War 1, 2021).

They nursed and treated soldiers from many nations; nurses also faced challenges such as poor facilities, lack of death, disease, harsh climate, and worked with many wounded and traumatized patients; and the nurses also had difficulties with some patients because they spoke different languages. (Research Guides: Australians in World War 1: Women’s war work, 2021).

The medical facilities nurses worked in became overwhelmed with wounded and death from major battles. (Centenary of ANZAC - Women and World War 1. 2021). The nurses treated injuries such as standard battle wounds, infections, burns from mustard gas, and shell shock. (Nursing and Medicine During World War 1, 2021). The nurses saved many lives by cleaning wounds, so none of the soldiers died of infections; nurses had to give blood transfusions to help saturate the wounds before going into surgeries, and the nurses worked as anaesthetics to help stabilize soldiers. (Nursing and Medicine During World War 1, 2021). The nurses had also been trained to work in veteran hospitals. (Australian Army Nursing Service in World War 1, 2021).

Nurses were also mainly responsible for overseeing their work and ensuring the wellbeing of patients. They also carried out orders from other medical staff, recorded their observations of patients; they have administered medicines at the right intervals, and the nurses dressed wounds. (Great War Nurses, Australian War Memorial, 2021).

The nurses supported military troops; they had to adapt to new forms of medical service, and nurses had to work under extreme conditions. (Nursing and Medicine During World War 1, 2021). The nurses were also trained to fill military orderlies. (Research Guides: Australians in World War 1: Women’s war work, 2021).

The nurses were also exposed to physical and mental strain because they dealt with a huge number of casualties and deaths. The conditions of nurses ranged from arduous to impossible due to a lack of death and medical provisions. (Centenary of ANZAC — Women and World War 1, 2021). The other challenges nurses faced were poor working conditions, long hours, poor weather, and minimal equipment. (Nursing and Medicine during World War 1, 2021). The other roles that nurses had were transportation, machinery work, organized activities. (Nursing and Medicine during World War 1, 2021).

After World War 1 in 1918, a total of 1,400 nurses were still actively serving, and the nurses have paved the way for many in medical services ever since. (Nursing and Medicine During World War I, 2021). Nurses have changed as people because they received training and opportunities to do roles that were previously reserved for men. (Centenary of ANZAC–Women and World War 1, 2021). The nurses today are different from nurses back in World War 1 because they have better hospitals, more responsibility, more focus on patient care, can have a husband have to do a minimum of three years of training, and have to pass a national licensing exam to get a nursing license, and the nurses today can also be male and female. (Ranard, 2019).

In conclusion, it was predicted that the roles of field nurses are significant in World War 1 and Australian history. The key points that I covered in my speech are what the roles of Australian women were before the start of World War 1; the roles of nurses during World War 1, and what nurses were doing after the war and the way they are different compared to nurses today. The significance of World War 1 nurses is still seen today.