But among old nurses, they are still remembered and sometimes mentioned, as when one nurse said: вЂњSister Ragnhild was a skilled theatre nurse, she had been in KoreaвЂќ (Bockelie, 2009). They have not been a topic for Norwegian nurse historians (Fause & Micaelsen, 2001 Mathisen, 2006 Wyller, 1990). After the war, the nurses faded from the public eye and their efforts are at present almost forgotten. During the war, Korea Sisters were interviewed in both newspapers (Aftenposten, 1952) and parish news (HammarГёy, 1953) and their humanitarian engagement in Korea was well known. The nurses were nicknamed вЂњThe Korea SistersвЂќ (Hetty & RГёnnaug, 1951). The Korean War is the largest war zone mission ever carried out by The Armed Forces Medical Services of Norway (Malm, 1951). All in all, over 90,000 patients were received and treated (Dale, 1955). A total of 9600 operations were performed at NORMASH. The nurses served in seven contingents, each 6В month. Norway did not have an army nurse corps and depended on civilian nurses to staff the field hospital. The purpose was to give war causalities quick and definitive treatment. The MASHs were designed to have a capacity of 60 in-bed patients and four operation tables. One and a half million soldiers and civilians are believed to have been killed and another two and a half million mutilated or wounded.ДЇrom July 1951вЂ“November 1954 Norway participated in the UN Army with a MASH serving 15вЂ“30В km behind the combat zone. The hostilities ended with an armistice 27 July 1953. The United Nations condemned North Korea and responded to the aggression with a peace enforcing UN Army led by the USA.

The Korean War started 25 June 1950 when North Korea attacked South Korea. The purpose of this article is to address the impact of their nursing experiences on Norwegian post-Korean-War nursing.

A total of 111 civilian Norwegian nurses served at the Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, NORMASH. Norway did not have a nursing corps or nurses trained for military service. Medical advancement resulting from The Korean War, have been identified and discussed (Baker, 2012), but what about nursing?Дuring the Korean War Norway established and ran a field hospital in Korea. It is claimed that nursing in war is a catalyst for change (Brunk, 1997). For one war, however, the material is scarce. Several scholarly works have been published both about specific wars and topics, as well as anthologies about nursing in wartime. Wartime nursing is a growing research field among nurse historians as well as historians with interest in gender and war. Competence tried and practice expanded and changed (Helmstadter, 2015). Nurses knowledge and skills are tested in wartime and emergencies. Through improvement in sanitary conditions and carefully nursing of fever and diarrhoea at the barrack hospitals in Scutari, the mortality rate among causalities fell considerably (Elstad, Glasdam, & Bydam, 2008).

Modern nursing is unbreakable linked to Florence Nightingale and her well documented organizing of nursing in 1854вЂ“1855, during the Crimean War (1853вЂ“1856).

Korean war hospital