Gender and “domesticity”. Historical keys to understand the therapeutic relationship in the origin of american professional nursing (1800-1860)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/asclepio.2023.03Keywords:
Nursing, XIXth century, Gender, Domesticity, Therapeutic relationship, ProfessionalizationAbstract
In the first half of the 19th century, the health care administered in the domestic sphere in the United States of America was transmitted from mothers to daughters as part of women’s daily learning. In the context of the therapeutic relationships established at the bedside of those who were ill, the exercise of care was understood as a moral manifestation of women towards their loved ones, and an example of feminine benevolence. We observe that there was a gradual change that was influenced by social movements in favour of women and the access to education. The research shows a path that allows us to understand the domestic context as a catalyst for the visibility, recognition and social legitimacy of the care provided by women, and its role in the professionalization of nursing, and in the relationships established between doctors, nurses and those who fell ill. The article proposes a progressive transition from care practices in the domestic sphere to the professionalization of women as nurses.
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