title: Dorothea Dix. An inspirational crusader for political reform and provision of mental health care services.
abstract: Traditionally nursing history, that is nurses' collective memory, unique skills and collective experiences, was passed down in a fragmented way throughout training and career. Now nurses are beginning to recognise how vital the study of nursing history is, not only as a tool of unification, but also as a source of pride. Nurses as individuals need to expand their breadth of nursing history knowledge in order to achieve a conscious identity for nursing in the future, not least politically where the future absolutely depends on a sense of collective achievement in the past. The life and works of Dorothea Linde Dix provide a foundation in the political history of nursing and an inspiration for its future.
authors.affiliation: University of Dundee, Scotland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donnelly
mesh_terms: D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000266:history; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000266:history*; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000266:history; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States