The Nurse Apprentice, 1860–1977

This study surveys, examines, and analyses the British apprenticeship model of nurse training from 1860 at St Thomas's Hospital, until the publication of the last national syllabus from the General Nursing Council in England and Wales in 1977.

The study uses primary data and evidence of the British model of nurse training that was unquestioned for over a century, drawing upon material that has not previously been examined. It interprets the attitudes and values underpinning the apprenticeship system, including the place of vocation, and explains the reason for the ending of this system.

The book is intended to fill a major gap in the history of nurse training of what was, until recently, the only model of training in the United Kingdom. It presents an overview of the nursing apprenticeship, a key aspect of nursing history, and is particularly relevant to modern readers because of the recent moves of nursing education into higher education, and the surrounding intense policy debates about nursing education and practice.

The Nurse Apprentice, 1860–1977 should also be of interest internationally because of the widespread and continuing influence of British nursing worldwide.