}`HPLASErJ€}.mt 10 .hm 3 .h1Grayson Enterprise Ltd. First NA Serial Rights .h2Page #. Copyright 1991 .h3 943 words + captions .LS2       DOCTOR AND NURSE FIGURINES  Written and Photographed by June Grayson      "Doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief." Fortunately for   collectors, children aren't the only ones who know that old   nursery rhyme. The artists who conceive the myriad lines of   collectibles now offered in the marketplace are hard-pressed to   keep up with the continuing demand for what I call "occupational   figurines." Lucky for you if you or a family member or friend work in   one of those careers whose essence can be readily captured in   pottery, porcelain, or wood. You can always find an ideal present   or souvenir for any occasion. π03 Š Our burgeoning collection of doctor and nurse figurines   started innocently enough almost 20 years ago. A grateful   patient gave my husband an exquisitely detailed porcelain doctor   figurine almost 20" tall. Richard placed it on a table among   other medical mementos in his waiting room.  Somehow it mysteriously "disappeared" only a few months   later, although nothing like that has happened to us before or   since in the little heartland suburb where we live. Because this   occurred before we became interested in collecting, I had never   once turned it over to find out the name and date of the maker!  I regret that I will never be able to replace it, or indeed   recognize, a duplicate at this late date even if I should find   one.  Our medical collectibles are still on display. Now, howev  er, they repose in a large (and locked) display cabinet. Pa  tients seem to enjoy looking at them. We think it contributes to   the comfortable and home-like atmosphere we aim for in the office   of a specialist in internal medicine.  I am not aware of any antique doctor or nurse figurines.  That is probably because the great advances in medicine and the   scientific method all seem to have occurred within the last two   centuries.  During the American Civil War in the 1860s, army doctors did   amputations while patients had only whiskey to dull their pain.  π0- Š Ether and laughing gas (nitrous oxide) had been discovered in the   1840's but scientific surgical anesthesia did not become   widespread until depressive gases together with oxygen could be   administered and controlled by precise gauges on our modern   machines.  One of the greatest dangers for American pioneer women was   childbirth because the use of forceps and Caesarean section was   not yet widespread. Most deliveries were conducted at home with   the local midwife in attendance. However, women who went to the   European hospitals were in even more danger; childbed fever and   death were rampant on the obstetrics wards.  It was not until Dr. Ignatz Semmelweiss, a young Hungarian   physician, published his treatise "On the Contagiousness of   Childhood Fever" in 1861 that things started looking up for   mothers. He suggested that attending physicians wash their hands   between patients! Yet his seminal work was met by a hostile   medical establishment with denunciation and vituperation, rather   than a desire to help their patients and preserve their lives.  Also in the 19th century, Louis Pasteur, French scientist,   proved that microorganisms rather than wicked spirits caused   disease and death. This led to the pasteurization of milk.   Joseph Lister used this discovery to insist that surgery should  be performed under antiseptic conditions. Pasteur also   discovered a vaccination to prevent death by rabies, just as  π0- Š Edward Jenner had discovered the basis for vaccination against   smallpox at the start of the 19th Century.  Only poor women and prostitutes worked as nurses in the   awful Medieval hospitals of Europe after the states took over the   hospitals from compassionate religious orders. It remained for   Florence Nightingale in England, through her experiences in   charge of nursing in the British army during the Crimean War of   the 1850s, and Clara Barton in America during the Civil War of   the 1860s, to make nursing into a profession that proper young   ladies could aspire to enter.  The great advances in medicine have been related to the   improvements in public health and sanitation as well as the   medical means to identify and control infectious diseases. The   numerous and effective antibiotics, which we take for granted   today, started with the discovery of sulfa and penicillin in   time for the treatment of the armies of World War II.  Ironically, non-sexist medicine was alive and well in the   ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Women as   physicians and as medical school professors were on an equal   basis with men, and their virtues were extolled in some of the   ancient historical documents.  Contemporary art reflects contemporary culture, so most  figurines still portray doctors as men and nurses as women. Yet   that is changing. Lladro has a current figurine of a woman  π0- Š doctor. The ANRI woodcarvings by the Australian artist, Sarah   Kay, include three medical figurines: a female nurse carrying a   tray (Tender Loving Care), a male doctor with a stethoscope and   doctor's bag (House Call), and a female doctor examining a   patient's chart (Yearly Check Up).  Some artists take a satirical view of doctors. It is not   surprising that we should have this love-hate relationship with   doctors. Who wants to be sick and face the awful anxieties of   sometimes inevitable disability and death?  Still, for most people, the doctor remains the embodiment of   the compassionate healer and friend: to cure sometimes, to comfort   always, to harm never.  As Norman Rockwell entitled his March 9, 1929, Saturday  Evening Post cover (later interpreted in a porcelain figurine)  from the writings of Jean Jacques Rousseau, "What wisdom can you   find that is greater than kindness?"   #######  June Grayson is a registered nurse who manages her doctor   husband's medical office. He collects old medical books, mortars   and pestles, and medical figurines. She collects Victorian   cracker jars and writes extensively about antiques and   collectibles.