Linda Richards
Encyclopedia
Linda Richards was the first professionally trained American nurse. She established nursing training programs in the United States
and Japan
, and created the first system for keeping individual medical records for hospitalized patients.
. She was the youngest of three daughters of Betsy Sinclair Richards and Sanford Richards, a preacher, who named his daughter after the missionary Ann Hasseltine Judson
in the hopes that she would follow in her footsteps.
In 1845, Richards moved with her family to Wisconsin
, where they owned some land. However, her father died of tuberculosis
just weeks after they arrived there, and the family soon had to return to Richards' grandparents' home in Newbury, Vermont
. They purchased a small farm just outside the town and settled there. Betsy Sinclair Richards also contracted tuberculosis
, and Linda Richards nursed her mother until her death from the disease in 1854.
for a year in order to become a teacher, and indeed taught for several years, she was never truly happy in that profession. In 1860, Richards met George Poole, to whom she became engaged. Not long after their engagement, Poole joined the Green Mountain Boys
and left home to fight in the American Civil War
. He was severely wounded in 1865, and when he returned home, Richards cared for him until his death in 1869.
Inspired by these personal losses, she moved to Boston
, Massachusetts
in order to become a nurse. Her first job was at Boston City Hospital
, where she received almost no training and was subjected to overwork. She left that hospital after only three months, but was undaunted by her experiences there. In 1872, Linda Richards became the first student
to enroll in the inaugural class of five nurses in the first American Nurse’s training school
. This pioneering school was run by Dr. Susan Dimock
, at the New England Hospital for Women and Children
in Boston
.
Linda describes her nursing training: “We rose at 5.30 a.m. and left the wards at 9 p.m. to go to our beds, which were in little rooms between the wards. Each nurse took care of her ward of six patients both day and night. Many a time I got up nine times in the night; often I did not get to sleep before the next call came. We had no evenings out, and no hours for study or recreation. Every second week we were off duty one afternoon from two to five o'clock. No monthly allowance was given for three months.”
, where she was hired as a night supervisor at Bellevue Hospital. While working there, she created a system for keeping individual records for each patient, which was to be widely adopted both in the United States
and in the United Kingdom
. Aware of how little she still knew as a nurse, Linda began her quest to acquire more knowledge and then pass this on to others by establishing high quality nurse training schools.
Returning to Boston
in 1874, she was named superintendent of the Boston Training School for nurses. Though the school's training program was only a year old at the time, it was under threat of closure due to poor management. Richards, however, improved the program to such an extent that it was soon regarded as one of the best of its kind in the country.
In an effort to upgrade her skills, Richards took an intensive, seven-month nurse training program in England
in 1877. She consulted with Florence Nightingale
, and was a resident visitor in training at St Thomas’s Hospital and King's College Hospital
, London
, and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
. On her return to the United States
with Nightingale’s warmest wishes, Richards pioneered the founding and superintending of nursing training schools across the nation. In 1885 she helped to establish Japan's first nurses-training program. She supervised the school at the Doshisha Hospital in Kyoto
for five years.
When she returned to the United States
in 1890, she worked as a nurse for another twenty years while helping to establish special institutions for those with mental illnesses. She was elected as the first president of the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools, and served as head of the Philadelphia Visiting Nurses Society. She retired from nursing in 1911, at the age of seventy.
She wrote a book about her experiences, Reminiscences of Linda Richards, which has been republished in 2006 as America's First Trained Nurse. Richards suffered a severe stroke in 1923, and was hospitalized until her death on April 16, 1930. Richards was named to the National Women's Hall of Fame
in 1994.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and created the first system for keeping individual medical records for hospitalized patients.
Early life
Richards was born Malinda Ann Judson Richards on July 27, 1841 in West Potsdam, New YorkPotsdam (town), New York
Potsdam is a town located in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 15,957 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 13676. The town is named after the city of Potsdam in Germany...
. She was the youngest of three daughters of Betsy Sinclair Richards and Sanford Richards, a preacher, who named his daughter after the missionary Ann Hasseltine Judson
Ann Hasseltine Judson
Ann Hasseltine Judson was one of the first female American foreign missionaries. She attended the Bradford Academy and during a revival there read Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education by Hannah More, which led her to "seek a life of 'usefulness'". Born in Bradford, Massachusetts,...
in the hopes that she would follow in her footsteps.
In 1845, Richards moved with her family to Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, where they owned some land. However, her father died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
just weeks after they arrived there, and the family soon had to return to Richards' grandparents' home in Newbury, Vermont
Newbury, Vermont
Newbury could be either of the following places in the U.S. state of Vermont:*Newbury , Vermont*Newbury , Vermont...
. They purchased a small farm just outside the town and settled there. Betsy Sinclair Richards also contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, and Linda Richards nursed her mother until her death from the disease in 1854.
Education
Her experience with nursing her dying mother awakened Richards' interest in nursing. Though in 1856, at the age of fifteen, Richards entered St. Johnsbury AcademySt. Johnsbury Academy
St. Johnsbury Academy is an independent, private, coeducational, non-profit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, USA, enrolling students in grades 9-12. It was founded in 1842 by Thaddeus Fairbanks, and accepts the majority of its students through one of the nation's oldest...
for a year in order to become a teacher, and indeed taught for several years, she was never truly happy in that profession. In 1860, Richards met George Poole, to whom she became engaged. Not long after their engagement, Poole joined the Green Mountain Boys
Green Mountain Boys
The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants...
and left home to fight in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He was severely wounded in 1865, and when he returned home, Richards cared for him until his death in 1869.
Inspired by these personal losses, she moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in order to become a nurse. Her first job was at Boston City Hospital
Boston City Hospital
The Boston City Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and .....
, where she received almost no training and was subjected to overwork. She left that hospital after only three months, but was undaunted by her experiences there. In 1872, Linda Richards became the first student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
to enroll in the inaugural class of five nurses in the first American Nurse’s training school
Nursing school
A nursing school is a type of educational institution, or part thereof, providing education and training to become a fully qualified nurse. The nature of nursing education and nursing qualifications varies considerably across the world.-United Kingdom:...
. This pioneering school was run by Dr. Susan Dimock
Susan Dimock
Susan Dimock M.D. was a pioneer in American Medicine who received her qualification as a doctor from the University of Zurich in 1871 and was subsequently appointed resident physician of the New England Hospital for Women and Children in 1872...
, at the New England Hospital for Women and Children
New England Hospital for Women and Children
New England Hospital for Women and Children was opened in Boston, Massachusetts on July 1, 1862 by Dr. Marie Zakrzewska and Ednah Dow Cheney. The Hospital remained dedicated to women and children until the 1950s when it became financially deficient and after recommendations from the United...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Linda describes her nursing training: “We rose at 5.30 a.m. and left the wards at 9 p.m. to go to our beds, which were in little rooms between the wards. Each nurse took care of her ward of six patients both day and night. Many a time I got up nine times in the night; often I did not get to sleep before the next call came. We had no evenings out, and no hours for study or recreation. Every second week we were off duty one afternoon from two to five o'clock. No monthly allowance was given for three months.”
Career
Upon graduating one year later, she moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she was hired as a night supervisor at Bellevue Hospital. While working there, she created a system for keeping individual records for each patient, which was to be widely adopted both in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Aware of how little she still knew as a nurse, Linda began her quest to acquire more knowledge and then pass this on to others by establishing high quality nurse training schools.
Returning to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1874, she was named superintendent of the Boston Training School for nurses. Though the school's training program was only a year old at the time, it was under threat of closure due to poor management. Richards, however, improved the program to such an extent that it was soon regarded as one of the best of its kind in the country.
In an effort to upgrade her skills, Richards took an intensive, seven-month nurse training program in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1877. She consulted with Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
, and was a resident visitor in training at St Thomas’s Hospital and King's College Hospital
King's College Hospital
King's College Hospital is an acute care facility in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH"...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or RIE, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on...
. On her return to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with Nightingale’s warmest wishes, Richards pioneered the founding and superintending of nursing training schools across the nation. In 1885 she helped to establish Japan's first nurses-training program. She supervised the school at the Doshisha Hospital in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
for five years.
When she returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1890, she worked as a nurse for another twenty years while helping to establish special institutions for those with mental illnesses. She was elected as the first president of the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools, and served as head of the Philadelphia Visiting Nurses Society. She retired from nursing in 1911, at the age of seventy.
She wrote a book about her experiences, Reminiscences of Linda Richards, which has been republished in 2006 as America's First Trained Nurse. Richards suffered a severe stroke in 1923, and was hospitalized until her death on April 16, 1930. Richards was named to the National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame
The National Women's Hall of Fame is an American institution. It was created in 1969 by a group of people in Seneca Falls, New York, the location of the 1848 Women's Rights Convention...
in 1994.
External links
- Reminiscences of Linda Richards, accessed April 13, 2008.