Physical description

Illustrated book. Front cover, within a light grey border, has part of title and authors names printed in white on a green background, also on this background are illustrations of nurses' caps in graduating colour shades of green to white. Between the title and authors names is a light pink square offset on a larger dark pink rectangle. On this square the rest of the title is printed in black ink. Abbreviated title, authors and publishers name are printed in black ink on a grey background. On the back cover are printed a synopsis of the book, authors details and publishers name on a grey rectangular background, with a green border

Publication type

non-fiction

Inscriptions & markings

On front end paper is a printed black and white donation sticker: black Maltese cross in circle, "This book was donated to Alfred Archival Association Nursing Division by" Also on this page is a dedication "To AHNL from Judith Bessant Bob Bessant" hand-written and signed by them in blue ink. previous catalogue number is written in blue ink in top right-hand corner of this page. Next to page 198 three nurses in a photo have been identified and their names written in black ink below said photo.

Summary

This book is about nurses and nursing in Victoria from the 1930s until the 1980's. It traces the difficult steps that the nursing profession has made towards forging its identity within medicine, improving wages and conditions and the transferring of nurse education into the tertiary sector. The book culminates with the nurses' strike of 1986