A historical perspective on the professional development of black South African nurses : 1908-1994

Abstract

This report focuses on a qualitative historical inquiry 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. Historically rich data were analysed using time-specific a priori codes. The findings revealed that black South African nurses had to adapt to Western-dominated scientific health views using specialised formal Western terminology in a 'foreign' language (English). In the black communities nurses were regarded as being an elitist middle class while remaining marginalised in the white-dominated workplace. Recommendations include a need to explore the history of the training of other racial groups, educational strategies that focus on multicultural student populations, cultural diversity training and student retention.