We said what? The silence of the RANS

We said what? The silence of the RANS

A 1903 letter from an unidentified nurse to the editor of the Journal of Nursing stated that:
I think that she (speaking of Goldstein, who represented ATNA) does not look upon nursing and nurses from the right standpoint. To begin with we are not of the Trade and… the eight hour question does not and I hope never will apply to nursing. We are professional women and (we) work for the benefit of mankind-not for twelve hours but for twenty four hours if the need arises.

It is ironic that whilst at the turn of the century, Queensland was at the forefront of many of the new developments in urban nursing in Australia, since that time those with legitimate authority and voice to be heard either did not hear or completely ignored RANs. The very people who were originally used to innovate and stabilise the nursing profession in its infancy and development were deliberately excluded from any policy decision making processes for many years.

It is clear that there have been contradictions in the discourses and actions of RANs during the last two centuries. While RANs used their agency and selected to work in a harsh remote environment, for many years, they have on multiple occasions, been politically and conveniently silent. This became evident within the discourses of politicians, doctors and also their own profession. They became lost in the dust of remoteness both figuratively as well as in reality either by the design of others of by their own choices. So how and why did this happen?