ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a very brief background sketch of where nursing has come from; identifying influences which have contributed to its tradition, structure, relationships, and development. The extention of industry was accompanied by the uncontrolled growth of towns, which in turn spawned housing, sanitary and health problems of some magnitude. Poverty among both the rural and urban working classes remained a problem throughout the Victorian era. A Royal Commission to study the workings of the Poor Law was set up in 1832, resulting in the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. The position and role of women in Victorian society constituted one of the most important topics through the period. The dominant influence of the medical profession over nursing and nurse education was set to continue for a further half century; the handmaiden image was to die only very slowly. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
