Lystra Gretter is a pioneer of nursing because she influenced many aspects of the profession of nursing. She strived for better education, better standards for nurses, and better health for the public. Thanks to the work of Lystra Gretter, nursing became more of a profession.
Before she was a nursing pioneer, Lystra Elizabeth Eggert, was born in September 1858 in Bayfield, Ontario. Her father had some influence on her with wanting to be in the medical field because during the American Civil War, Lystra’s father was a surgeon in the Union Army. I can relate to Lystra being influenced by her father because my father was a paramedic when I was younger.
Until 1866, Lystra received her primary education in Bayfield. After moving to Greensboro, North Carolina, she attended private schools in the South. At the age of 19, she finished school. After finishing school, she married a man named John Birney Gretter in 1877. John was a veteran of the Confederate Army and he was 26 years older than Lystra. Together, Lystra and John had a daughter named Mary in 1881. Sadly, in 1884 John died leaving her a single mother with a three-year old to raise.
After the death of her husband, Lystra moved to New York with her mother and sister and registered for classes in the Buffalo General Hospital Training School for Nurses in …show more content…
She changed the 12-15 hour nursing shift to an eight-hour shift making the Farrand School the first to have an eight-hour shift. Gretter also changed the length of the nursing program. The program was originally one year, but she changed it to three years in 1896 to have more experienced nurses. Due to Gretter’s work, nursing programs improved, nurses became more experienced, and according to Helen Manson R.N., nursing became more professional under the instruction of Lystra Gretter. Mostly because of Gretter, Michigan became the second state to require the certification of nursing in
Before she was a nursing pioneer, Lystra Elizabeth Eggert, was born in September 1858 in Bayfield, Ontario. Her father had some influence on her with wanting to be in the medical field because during the American Civil War, Lystra’s father was a surgeon in the Union Army. I can relate to Lystra being influenced by her father because my father was a paramedic when I was younger.
Until 1866, Lystra received her primary education in Bayfield. After moving to Greensboro, North Carolina, she attended private schools in the South. At the age of 19, she finished school. After finishing school, she married a man named John Birney Gretter in 1877. John was a veteran of the Confederate Army and he was 26 years older than Lystra. Together, Lystra and John had a daughter named Mary in 1881. Sadly, in 1884 John died leaving her a single mother with a three-year old to raise.
After the death of her husband, Lystra moved to New York with her mother and sister and registered for classes in the Buffalo General Hospital Training School for Nurses in …show more content…
She changed the 12-15 hour nursing shift to an eight-hour shift making the Farrand School the first to have an eight-hour shift. Gretter also changed the length of the nursing program. The program was originally one year, but she changed it to three years in 1896 to have more experienced nurses. Due to Gretter’s work, nursing programs improved, nurses became more experienced, and according to Helen Manson R.N., nursing became more professional under the instruction of Lystra Gretter. Mostly because of Gretter, Michigan became the second state to require the certification of nursing in