Margaret Shanks, nurse to Susan B. Anthony: exploring the extraordinary in the ordinary

摘要

This historical effort explores the life and professional practice of the relatively unknown nurse who attended the well-known suffragist Susan B. Anthony during the last months of her life. It examines nursing practice in the United States at the end of the 19th century through the life and voice of this nurse. The study affirms the value in social history of understanding ordinary lives and practice of nurses. It analyzes the professional, personal, and social interactions between nurse and patient that change each, all within a most significant historical, social, and political context.