Nursing during the Great Depression

Nursing Shortages Arise
During the mid-1930s, the situation eased a little. But by this time, the general lack of support for the nursing profession had already created a big problem. There weren’t enough well-trained nurses to go around. This issue took decades (and lots of government educational funding) to fix. Yes, nursing shortages are nothing new. Fortunately, there have always been those who feel the calling to the healing profession too strongly to ignore.

Cleatis Treese, RN: “I think all my life I wanted to be a nurse. Mother said I never had a baby doll that was well. It either had a fracture or something had to be bandaged. So all my life I wanted to be a nurse. There was just never any doubt. Now my father was an invalid and he pushed me too, you know. He thought nurses were just the thing. And then I was a Lutheran, and so my minister just thought he would like to have one of his people go to the Lankenau Hospital [in Pennsylvania] to be a nurse. It just all fit in.”

There you have it! Do these stories remind you of anyone you know? We’d love to hear any stories you’ve heard passed down from nurses who worked through the Great Depression. Join us in the comments!

Quotes derived from The Lived Experience of Registered Nurses, 1930-1950: A Phenomenological Study by Beverly Knowles Byers, BSN, MS, MSN