The History of Nurses As It Is Depicted on Postage Stamps

The History of Nurses As It Is Depicted on Postage Stamps

This lecture discusses images of nurses as seen on postage stamps. The art of postage stamps usually reflects the perceived public view of nurses and nursing. Postage stamps are an interesting source of data for examining the history of nursing. This session discusses how this image of nursing has changed over time. Viewing and analysing the postage stamp images presents an historical account of nursing and also a differing cultural perspective related to the country of origin of the stamp.

The main concepts explored in this session are:

• History of nursing – feminism in nursing
• Nurses on postage stamps
• Stereotypes of nurses and misleading image of nurses
• Nursing profession and public perceptions
• Mass media representation of nurses

Marilyn Gendek is a Nursing Consultant based in Canberra. Marilyn has been part of the profession of nursing for forty years, spending the majority of her career working in nurse education and regulation. Her nursing history interests include collecting and exhibiting stamps on nursing. She was invited to display an exhibit on Florence Nightingale for the Florence Nightingale International Foundation 75th Anniversary at the International College of Nursing (ICN) Congress in Durbin 2009.

Speaker name: Marilyn Gendek
Recorded: 24 May 2010
Listening time: 29 Mins
Conference: Celebrating Nursing History and Change
Session in Conference: Nursing art and invisible science
State: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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