Professional Organizations Exist to Protect
Their Members and the People They Serve
In the last part of the 19th Century, historical and social events occurred that supported the rise of modern nursing. Around the world, refo rmers were becoming more vocal in support of social changes that would enhance the lives of individuals. The plight of the poor, the exploitation of laborers, many of whom were immigrant men, women and children, were being exposed to scrutiny. And notably for nursing, the first wave of feminism was taking place. Like Florence Nightingale before them, American nurses were likely to support women's suffrage but not women\rquote s rights. The exception was Lavinia Dock who ardently supported both.
Lavinia Dock and Isabelle Hampton Robb graduated from the Bellevue Training School in New York. Some years later Ms. Hampton started a nurses' training school at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and was appointed superintendent of the school. Ms. Hampton recruited her f riend, Ms. Dock to work with her at Johns Hopkins Training School for Nurses. M. Adelaide Nutting was in the first class to graduate from the newly formed school. The three nurses became friends and worked with Linda Richards, Sophia Palmer and others t o form the first two major nursing organizations that remain powerful voices in the affairs of nursing today. Though not called by these names at that time, they are known to us as The National League for Nurses (NLN) and The American Nurses' Association (ANA).