Alice Reeves RRC (December 1874 – 21 October 1955) was an Irish nurse and matron of Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin. Described by surgeon, T. G. Wilson, as "undoubtedly one of the greatest nurses Ireland has ever produced." Reeves helped create the first rules of the

general nursing council General Nursing Councils for England & Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (then one country and part of the United Kingdom) were established by three country specific Nurses Registration Act 1919, Nurses Registration Acts 1919. Each General Nursing C ...

in the 1920s and she received the honour of a

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

Biography

Alice Reeves was born in December 1874. She was the daughter of the Rev. Charles Robert Reeves, clergyman, and Charlotte Reeves (née Haire). At age five or six, Reeves was orphaned, and was raised by her aunt. At 19 she went to Adelaide Hospital, Dublin to train as a nurse, staying there as a ward sister after her training. She was appointed matron of the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in 1908, and remained there until 22 October 1918, when she was appointed lady superintendent and matron of Dr Steevens’ Hospital. She would go on to hold this position for 30 years. At the time of her appointment to Dr Steevens', the economy was suffering in the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, leading to a need to change the training requirements for nurses to attract suitable candidates. Among the initial suggestions Reeves made to the hospital's board of governors was to abolish the entrance fee for probationer nurses. Instead, the probationer nurses would receive their certificate of qualification only after completing three years’ training, proving their nursing ability. The establishment of this practice helped in the professionalisation and standardisation of nursing, mirroring similar work by Margaret Huxley at Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital, Dublin. Reeves was the first president of the Adelaide Hospital League of Nurses and a founding member of the Florence Nightingale committee. When the

National Council of Nurses The National Council of Nurses Great Britain and Ireland (NCN) was created in 1908 as a national representative body at the International Council of Nurses (ICN). It fulfilled this role until it amalgamated with the Royal College of Nursing in ...

was established under the Nurses Registration (Ireland) Act of 1919, she was one of the first appointees. When the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

was established in 1922, she formally applied for the council's affiliation to the

International Council of Nurses The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for :Health care occupations, health care professionals. It is headqua ...

by in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland. With Huxley, Reeves was instrumental in the formulation of the first rules of the general nursing council, a council that was founded after the nurses’ registration act was passed in 1925. She was a founding member of the Irish Matrons’ Association, helping to draft its constitution. She was also a founder of the Nation's Tribute to Nurses Fund, a fund that supported old or otherwise distressed nurses financially. For her work in the standardisation and professionalisation of nursing, Reeves received a number of honours. She received a

Royal Red Cross The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. It was created in 1883, and the first two awards were to Florence Nightingale and Jane Cecilia Deeb ...

for her work during WWI.

Dublin University The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

awarded her an honorary MA degree in 1947, and in 1949 she was the first Irishwoman to receive the

. When she retired from Dr Steevens', she was presented with a portrait of herself. Reeves died in the Merrion Nursing Home on 21 October 1955, and is buried at

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

Biography

References

Further reading