Nurse Leader Linda Richards

Linda Richards Introduction Linda Richards, America’s first and professional trained nurse has transformed her profession, bringing the work of nursing from menial chores to the great caregiving profession of today. She first got her experience in nursing when she was dealing with her dying mother; which was a very awakening experience to Linda, because during this time, she cared for her until her death. Linda's training as a nurse began under the supervision of Doc Currier, the family’s physician. From him, she received medical knowledge and some proper training. Despite her interest in nursing, in 1856 at age 15, she enrolled in St. Johnsbury to be trained as a teacher. Richards taught for several years, but was never happy in that profession. After teaching and a couple of personal losses, she then decided that she wanted to work as a nurse. Linda moved to Boston and took a job at Boston City Hospital to take a job as an assistant nurse. Here, she received little to no training, and was treated like a maid rather than the nurse she wanted to be. She left 3 months later due to poor health. Linda noticed an advertisement for a nurse-training program to be offered at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. She was one of five women to sign up for a nurse-training program at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. Linda Richards was the program's first graduate in 1873.
Career
After graduation, she moved to New York city, where she was hired as night supervisor at Bellevue Hospital. At Bellevue Linda created a system for charting and maintaining individual medical records for each patient. This was the first written reporting system for nurses which even the famous Nightingale System adopted. This system has become widely adopted in the United States as well as United Kingdom. By 1874 Linda was ready to take over the Boston Training School. She returned to Boston and was named superintendent of the Boston Training School for nurses.