Sylva Macharová (23 June 1893 – 19 January 1968) was a Czech nurse who was one of the first trained nurses in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. She headed the first nursing school in the country between 1923 and 1931. She was one of the inaugural recipients of the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

. After a break to raise her family, Macharová returned to nursing after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, working at a military hospital until 1949. Thereafter, she was appointed Head of the Rehabilitation Department in the clinic headed by Professor Arnold Jirásek.

Early life

Sylva Macharová was born on 23 June 1893 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, which was part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

at that time. Her father was the Czech poet

Josef Svatopluk Machar Josef Svatopluk Machar (; 1864 – 1942) was a Czech poet and essayist. A leader of the realist movement in Czech poetry and a master of colloquial Czech, Machar was active in anti-Austrian political circles in Vienna. Many of his poems were sat ...

, who at the time of her birth was working as a bank clerk. After attending the Lyceum in

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

for her secondary schooling, Macharová enrolled in 1913 in the Hospital School of Nursing in Vienna. She graduated in 1915 and went to

, becoming one of the first licensed nurses of the city.

Career

Macharová, who spoke Czech, English, and German, began working in a sanatorium in Podolí. Soon thereafter, she became a

scrub nurse A surgical nurse, also referred to as a theatre nurse or scrub nurse, specializes in perioperative care, providing care to patients before, during and after surgery. To become a theatre nurse, Registered Nurses or Enrolled Nurses must complete e ...

in the clinic of Professor Otakar Kukula. Around 1918, Macharová went to

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...

at the request of

Tomáš Baťa Tomáš Baťa () (3 April 1876 – 12 July 1932) was a Czech entrepreneur and founder of the Bata shoe company. His career was cut short when he died in a plane accident due to bad weather. Baťa's half-brother Jan Antonín Baťa took over h ...

, founder of Baťa Shoes, who was the mayor of Zlín at that time. He wanted her to investigate why he had cases of wound

suppuration Pus is an exudate, typically white-yellow, yellow, or yellow-brown, formed at the site of inflammation during infections, regardless of cause. An accumulation of pus in an enclosed tissue space is known as an abscess, whereas a visible collec ...

and she was able to discover the cause. In 1920, the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

awarded the

for the first time, and Macharová was one of two Czech recipients, the other being Irene Metekickova. The award was designed to recognize those who exhibited exemplary performance of nursing duties. In 1923, Macharová became the first headmistress of the Czech School of Nursing, taking over from the three

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

nurses who had initially developed the theoretical and practical training for the school. Simultaneously, she became the director of the German School of Nursing in the city. During her tenure, the school expanded rapidly, but maintained its dedication to professionalism. Macharová developed internship opportunities and workshops to improve skill and she sought to integrate languages in both schools. In 1931, Macharová married Alfons Nováček, a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

. They moved to Moravské Budějovice, where Macharová raised two sons, until 1938. At that time, the family returned to Prague because Marcharová's father was ill. In 1946, she returned to nursing, working at the . She worked in the

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

unit until 1949, when for political reasons she was forced to resign. That same year, she was hired as the head of the rehabilitation department in the university clinic headed by Professor Arnold Jirásek, where she worked until her retirement in 1957. Macharová died after a lengthy bout with cancer on 19 January 1968.

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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macharova, Sylva 1893 births 1968 deaths Health professionals from Vienna Health professionals from Prague Czech nurses Florence Nightingale Medal recipients