Often overlooked in the grand narratives of medical history, the nurse has been both a silent witness and active agent in the evolution of healthcare. From medieval monastic infirmaries to the battlefields of Crimea, from Victorian asylums to the wards of the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of the nurse has shifted, expanded, and been fiercely contested.

This lecture traces the complex and often contradictory history of nursing. We will explore how nurses have been seen as angels, servants, moral guardians, activists, and professionals—sometimes all at once. Along the way, we’ll meet figures such as Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, but also the countless anonymous nurses whose care, courage, and labor shaped the survival of patients and the reputation of hospitals.

We will also examine how the nurse’s role reflects larger social anxieties about class, gender, and power, and how nursing continues to challenge and redefine the boundaries of medicine, compassion, and advocacy today. Join us for a journey into the heart—and the hard realities—of nursing through the ages.