Ohio History Journal

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DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING IN OHIO

DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING IN OHIO

 

By ANNE L. AUSTIN, R.N.

 

The Period of Unorganized Development: Early Backgrounds

The early backgrounds of nursing history in Ohio are in the

realm of the unknown. If one is to judge how nursing was done

from the time of the Indian tribes to that of the first records

one must assume that the history followed a similar development

here as elsewhere.

It is known that the Eries, the Shawnees, the Wyandots and

the Delawares were the chief tribes in Ohio. These groups were

augmented by detached bands of Indians--the Ottawas, the Iro-

quois, the Tuscarawas, and the Senecas. A study of tribal prac-

tices with reference to the care of the sick reveals that there were

three ways in which the care was probably given. One was the

care of the aged and children, the convalescent, and the mildly

and seriously ill between visits of the medicine man. Another prob-

ably was the care of the wounded by the fighting men in the

wars with hostile tribes.  A third was the practice of the priest-

medicine man who, in connection with his religious duties, cared

for cases of illness. It seems certain that women were rarely

admitted to the religious ceremonies of the tribe, and therefore

in this instance, the care of the sick was in the hands of men.

In the family, however, the women usually carried out the pro-

cedure.

In the early history of these tribes the medicine man ap-

parently gave all the medical treatment. As time went on, how-

ever, his duties became more complex and there was a division

of labor, the medicine man himself retaining the priestly and

strictly medical duties, while assigning the actual care of the sick

person to a sub-caste of workers or assistants. This may have

been the beginning of the nursing care, as distinguished from the

medical care of the sick.

Following the coming of the white settlers, a form of nursing

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