Hardships the Women Experienced
Enduring excessive workloads and exhaustion due to lack of staff and hospitals meant a war nurse’s life was tiring and hard, whilst they were suffering most of the hardships a soldier would experience. Such as experiencing shock and terror when under enemy fire; harsh and weather
changing climate leaving the nurses cold or hot for days at a time; having to suffer with insufficient basic essentials, such as fresh food and water, leaving the nurses with diarrhoea; and finally depression and nightmares were also constant throughout the nurses whilst at war, as they had experienced loss of a loved one, horror from seeing instant deaths, hearing constant gun shots and enduring their own pain. This all caused post-traumatic stress disorder when they returned home after the 4 years of living these rough conditions.
changing climate leaving the nurses cold or hot for days at a time; having to suffer with insufficient basic essentials, such as fresh food and water, leaving the nurses with diarrhoea; and finally depression and nightmares were also constant throughout the nurses whilst at war, as they had experienced loss of a loved one, horror from seeing instant deaths, hearing constant gun shots and enduring their own pain. This all caused post-traumatic stress disorder when they returned home after the 4 years of living these rough conditions.
Needing to remain high – spirited during the war was one of the most difficult aspects of a nurse’s role. The nurses were there to comfort and care for the troops who were fining it tough. If a nurse was in a bight mood, it would rub off on the soldiers, therefore making it easier for them. The nurses caring for soldiers were the only women figures in the war, so the connections built between nurses and their patients were strong, considering they were mother figures for the soldiers, loss of a troop caused grief for the nurses.
The grief caused from loss of a soldier then added to the nurses’ depression and anxiety leaving the women in traumatic conditions and resulting in the nurses arriving home in bad circumstances.
The grief caused from loss of a soldier then added to the nurses’ depression and anxiety leaving the women in traumatic conditions and resulting in the nurses arriving home in bad circumstances.