Isla Stewart (25 August 1856 – 6 March 1910) was an English hospital matron of
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
in London and a founding member of the
Royal British Nurses' Association
The Royal British Nurses' Association was founded in December 1887 by Ethel Bedford-Fenwick.
It described itself as a union or organisation of nurses for professional objects and campaigned for the establishment of a register of nurses. It want ...
.
Early life
Stewart was born at Slodahill, near
Lockerbie
Lockerbie (, gd, Locarbaidh) is a small town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland. It is about from Glasgow, and from the border with England. The United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town ...
,
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
I ...
, Scotland, to soldier and journalist John Stewart, and his wife Jessie Murray. All of Stewart's siblings were sent to boarding school, but she stayed at home to study under a governess. Later in life she showed regret for missing the opportunity to study abroad like her sisters.
Career
Stewart began working at
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
in London, England at the age of 23, as a special probationer in the
Nightingale Training School for Nurses. After working in the Training School for nine months Stewart rose to become a sister of the surgical ward with 20 beds, Alexandra Ward. The Nightingale training had emphasized the ideas of practical nursing experience over theoretical instructions, and possibly most importantly to Stewart, the moral values that all nurses have to possess to be successful and effective.
Stewart left St Thomas' in 1885 when she was chosen to become
matron
Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies.
Etymology
The chief nurse, in other words the person ...
at a
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
hospital in
Darenth
Darenth is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles south east of Dartford and 4.6 miles north east of Swanley.
History
The parish was part of Axstane Hundred and later Dartford Rural Dis ...
, near Kent, England. Despite Stewart's organization and hard work to keep the camp running, it was shut down in 1886.
In the summer of 1887, Stewart became the matron of
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
in London. Stewart brought more order and education to the nursing program than the past administration, and enacted a set of skills the nurses had to learn and perfect or they would be dismissed from the program. She created a four years training system for nurses-to-be. After the first year they were required to take an exam on all of the information they had learned, and if they passed if they could become probationers. During the second and third year they received lectures on information relevant to nursing, and the third year they were examined. After the third year they received a certificate, but could not practice until after the fourth year.
Stewart published ''Practical Nursing'' with Dr H. E. Cuff in Fall of 1899, in an attempt to describe how nurses should work, with reasoning for the treatments carried out. The most emphasized point was the idea that training should be required and that hospitals could create their own training programs and hire nurses straight after.
Another volume was published in 1903, and then the second edition was published in 1909. After her death in 1910, the assistant matron of St Bartholomew's continued writing and published a third edition in 1911.
Death
Stewart's health began to deteriorate in the latter portion of 1909. She was last seen in public in the early winter of 1910 at a conference to discuss a Bill. Despite her ill health, Stewart still was a lively speaker at the conference. Stewart died on March 6, 1910, in
Chilworth, Surrey in the presence of her dear friend, who was once matron of St Bartholomew's,
Ethel Gordon Fenwick
Ethel Gordon Fenwick (née Manson; 26 January 1857 – 13 March 1947) was a British nurse who played a major role in the History of Nursing in the United Kingdom. She campaigned to procure a nationally recognised certificate for nursing, to saf ...
.
Legacy
While Stewart was matron she founded the
League of St Bartholomew's Hospital Nurses, the first organization of nurses in England. The League is still active to this day. Stewart also helped to found the
Matrons' Council for Great Britain and Ireland, and from this body formed the
National and International Council of Nurses and the
Society for the State Registration of Trained Nurses.
Stewart was also a member of the Nursing Board of
Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services.
History
Although an "official" nursing service was not established until 1881, the corps traces its heritage t ...
and an honorary member of the
Irish Nurses' Association
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and the
German Nurses' Association. During 1907, Stewart trained many French Nurses and the government later recognized her for this with a special silver medal.
Stewart introduced a more efficient and orderly nursing program, based upon a solid education. Stewart recognized the stigma of being a nurse, and attempted to achieve professional advancement through her reform. Effectively combining education and professional organization brought Stewart and her ideals respected around the world. Much of Stewart's educational approach in terms of nursing is still practiced as are her methods. Stewart illustrated that her intellect and diligence was equal to those of her superiors through her continuing reputation within the medical community.
See also
;British nursing matrons from the 19th century
*
Sidney Browne
Dame Sidney Jane Browne, (5 January 1850 – 13 August 1941) was the first appointed Matron-in-Chief of the newly formed Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS). After she retired from the QAIMNS she was appointed as Matron ...
*
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Be ...
*
Joanna Cruickshank
Dame Joanna Margaret Cruickshank, (28 November 1875 – 16 August 1958) was a British military nurse and nursing administrator. She founded Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service in November 1918 and served as its first Matron-in-Chief ...
*
Ethel Gordon Fenwick
Ethel Gordon Fenwick (née Manson; 26 January 1857 – 13 March 1947) was a British nurse who played a major role in the History of Nursing in the United Kingdom. She campaigned to procure a nationally recognised certificate for nursing, to saf ...
*
Caroline Keer
Caroline Keer, (1857 – 29 December 1928) was a British military nurse and nursing administrator, who served in Natal during the Second Boer War.
Nursing career
Keer served with the British Army's Nursing Service from December 1887, where sh ...
*
Eva Luckes
Eva Charlotte Ellis Luckes (8 July 1854 – 16 February 1919) was Matron of The London Hospital from 1880 to 1919.
Early life
Eva Abigail Charlotte Ellis Luckes (she herself spelled her name Lückes with the umlaut)
was born in Exeter, Devo ...
*
Maud McCarthy
Dame Emma Maud McCarthy, (22 September 1859 – 1 April 1949) was a nursing sister and British Army matron-in-chief.
Early life
McCarthy was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the eldest child of William Frederick McCarthy, a solicitor ...
*
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
*
Sarah Oram
Dame Sarah Elizabeth Oram, (26 December 1860 – 26 June 1946) became a senior member of the Army Nursing Service (ANS) and Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS), and served as Principal Matron, Nursing Inspector in the ...
*
Rosabelle Osborne
Rosabelle Osborne, (died 8 May 1958) was a British military nurse and nursing administrator. She served as Principal Matron at the War Office in 1924 and as Matron-in-Chief at the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) fro ...
*
Edith MacGregor Rome
Edith Sheriff MacGregor Rome RRC SRN (died 6 June 1938) was a British nursing matron and administrator. She served as President of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) from 1933–34 and again from 1937–38.
Biography
Edith Sheriff MacGregor was ...
*
Catherine Roy
*
Alicia Lloyd Still
Dame Alicia Frances Jane Lloyd Still, DBE, RRC, SRN (1869–1944) was a British nurse, teacher, hospital matron and leader of her profession.[Sarah Swift
Dame Sarah Ann Swift, GBE, RRC (22 November 1854, Kirton Skeldyke, Lincolnshire – 27 June 1937, Marylebone) was an English nurse and founder in 1916 of the Royal College of Nursing, thereby introducing Nurse registration.
Early life
Swift ...](_blank)
*
Susan Villiers
*
Sarah Elizabeth Wardroper
*
Constance Watney
Constance Watney, Order of the British Empire, MBE, COC, SRN, MBCN (1878 – 23 November 1947), was a British born missionary nurse in Uganda.
Early years
Constance Watney was born in 1878 in Beddington, Surrey. A member of the Watney family, sh ...
Notes
References
*
* Works by Isla Stewart at Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Isla
1856 births
1910 deaths
People from Dumfries and Galloway
British nurses