NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Nightingale Nurses by Donna Douglas


3.0 out of 5 stars -- predictable romantic fiction set in London in the 1930s as three young women arrive at the Nightingale Hospital in London to train as nurses. Coming from completely different backgrounds, Dora, Helen, and Millie have various reasons for wanting to study at the famed hospital. Can they endure the grueling schedule and unending work in order to further their personal goals and dreams?

I found the details about the actual nurses training the most interesting aspect of all. Reminded me that, in those days, there was more emphasis on bathing and cleaning than there was on science. The nurses did few actual procedures and took care of basic needs such as preparing and serving meals. I also wasn't surprised at the level of subservience expected from them by head sisters and the medical staff! Since I'm a nurse myself, I always find these novels to be pertinent reminders of how far the profession has come in skills and knowledge while still retaining the personal care expertise to provide hygiene and comfort to the hospitalized sick and injured.

I plan to read the other two in the trilogy:
#2 The Nightingale Sisters
#3 The Nightingale Nurses

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK - North America for the e-book ARC to review.

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