Monica Baly

Monica Eileen Baly (24 May 1914 – 12 November 1998) OBE FRCN was an English nurse, historian of nursing, and an advocate for social change.[1]

Monica Eileen Baly
Born24 May 1914
Died12 November 1998(1998-11-12) (aged 84)
EmployerRoyal College of Nursing

Early life

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Monica Baly studied at the St. Hilda's School for Girls in London.[2]

Education and career

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Baly trained in the London County Council Fever Hospital followed by professional nursing training at the Middlesex Hospital. She became a chief nursing officer in 1949 for the Royal College of Nursing. Baly was also an activist working toward fair living wages for nurses through the "Raise the Roof" campaign, which resulted in a 22% pay raise. Baly lectured on social policy and the history of nursing at the National Council of Nurses and authored Nursing and Social Change in 1973.[2] She was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in 1986.[3] She undertook a PhD in Nursing and Social Change, completing it at the age of 70.[4]

Legacy

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Baly founded and was the first Chair of the History of Nursing Society at the Royal College of Nursing, and founded a journal for nursing history. She left money for a scholarship in the area.[1] The Monica Baly Fund continues to offer small grants to support research into the history of nursing and midwifery by registered nurses and midwives who might otherwise not be able to undertake this work.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b McGann, Susan. "Baly, Monica Eileen". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71239. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b Haines, Catherine M. C. (2001). International women in science : a biographical dictionary to 1950. Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.]: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1576070905.
  3. ^ "RCN Fellows and Honorary Fellows". Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b "RCN Foundation Monica Baly Grant | RCN Foundation | Royal College of Nursing". The Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 16 April 2024.