ABSTRACT
In 1874, Sister Caroline Lloyd identified five differences between St John's House nurses and other nurses. St John's House nurses were all Church women and of a respectable character; the Sisters who trained them were thoroughly trained themselves. They were not considered nurses until they had had a year's training; no separate or lower grade of person was used for probationer, assistant or night nurse, and all had a career ladder with promotion based on merit. Despite their departure from the teaching hospitals, the Sisters left a significant legacy. Under their regime, nurses had gained respectability and could be relied on to give patient care conscientiously. Finally, no separate or lower grade of person was used for probationer, nurse or night nurse. Rather than being anachronisms, it was in large part because they were in advance of their time that the Sisters failed to establish their system as the model for the new nurse.
