The professional development of Black South Africa nurses 1908-1994 : a historical perspective

Abstract

The early professional history of black South African nurses has not been the principal focus of local historians. Consequently, a qualitative historical inquiry was conducted into the available literature on the economic, social, political and cultural factors that influenced the professional development of black South African nurses from 1908–1994. Non-probability, purposive sampling assisted in assembling a corpus of historically rich data for analysis using time-specific a priori codes. The findings revealed that; culturally, black South African nurses had to adapt to a Western-dominated scientific health view; educationally, they had to master specialised formal Western terminology presented in a ‘foreign’ language (English) and, socio-politically, they had to adapt to being regarded as an elitist middle-class in the black community while remaining marginalised in the white-dominated workplace. Recommendations include expanding the historical research base, designing more effective strategies for promoting cultural sensitivity, and prioritising the focus on teaching and student retention.