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. 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, however, they repose in a large (and locked) display cabinet. Patients 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. 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 shouldbe performed under antiseptic conditions. Pasteur also discovered a vaccination to prevent death by rabies, just as 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 mostfigurines still portray doctors as men and nurses as women. Yet that is changing. Lladro has a current figurine of a woman 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, SaturdayEvening 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.