| Learning Objective #1: Describe the social, economic, and technological factors influencing nurse employment in the first half of the twentieth century | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Identify the factors leading to the decline of private duty nursing |
Objective: This paper describes the origins of the professional private duty nurse registry system, the ways in which the registry system distributed nurses, the problems encountered in providing nursing care on a private basis, and the factors that led to the demise of private duty nursing.
Methods and Design: This is a case study of the Chicago based Nurses Professional Registry carried out using the methods of social history research. Primary sources used were the records of the Nurses Professional Registry and the Illinois State Nurses Association. Data includes studies completed on the Registry, statistical reports, meeting minutes, correspondence and work records. Secondary sources used which confirmed and validated findings were articles found in nursing and health related professional journals.
Findings: The Chicago Nurses Professional Nurses Registry, one of the largest and longest operating private duty registries in the United States, had a major impact on the organization of nurses’ work in the Chicago area and throughout the country. The registry was successful at providing employment for nurses in the initial decades of the twentieth century. In the post-World War II era, changes in the ways in which nurses sought work caused the decline of the private duty nursing.
Conclusions: Private duty registries offered nurses professionally supported organizations through which to obtain work. They significantly influenced the nurse labor market in the early decades of the twentieth century. Mid-century, the Chicago Nurses Professional Registry encountered significant difficulties in supplying nurses to the public relinquishing its position as a major force in the nurse labor market.
Implications: Many of the patterns of work used by contemporary nurses were formed within the private duty market. Identifying the origins of working conditions of previous generations of professional nurses and the solutions used to solve difficulties will aid in resolving future problems.
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