National Nurses Week, which begins May 6, recognizes the millions of nurses who make up the backbone of the American healthcare system. And the annual shout-out is more than warranted: A 2014 survey of more than 3,000 nurses found respondents to be stressed out, underslept and — at least in their own estimation — underpaid.
When LIFE featured the profession on its cover in 1938, the career was in a moment of transition. Read More...
All night the snow fell heavily. Before dawn it lay eight inches deep on the streets of sleeping Manhattan.
At 4:50 a.m. the elevator signal buzzed in International House, the massive 13-story lodging place built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. for foreign students. The elevator man had a blind right eye, but as he stopped the car he turned to look at his lone passenger. She was Valsa Anna Matthai, 21, a pretty Indian girl from Bombay, a Columbia University student. Read More...
To the vast majority of obstetricians it has always seemed not only sound medical practice but also plain common sense to keep a newborn baby warm—especially if it has difficulty beginning to breathe. In such cases, doctors have a standard treatment: with the baby held head down, they suck fluids out of his nose, mouth, throat and bronchi, and give oxygen. If after five minutes the baby still does not breathe, they may try artificial respiration or give more oxygen. Read More...
