Om kallstanken og moderniseringen av sykepleien

Abstract

The calling has been fundamental in the development of skilled nursing. This development took place in a context claiming alliance to traditional female values; values that had much in common with those associated with the calling. Using the Norwegian nursing leader, Bergljot Larsson, as an example, this article will discuss the role of the calling in the modernization of nursing. It is argued that the calling had a contradictiory role, representing both an aid and an obstacle in the efforts that were made to modernize nursing. The article is based on the thesis "Bergljot Larsson and modern nursing" (2002). The approach is primarily that of historical biography, derived from a range of written sources. In this connection sources from the archives of the Norwegian Nursing Assocition and the early 20th century issues of the periodical Sykepleien have been of particular significance.