Nurse education qualification courses have graduate status. Traditionally, from the times prior to Florence Nightingale, nursing was seen as an apprenticeship, often undertaken in religious institutes such as convents by young women, although there has always been a proportion of male nurses, especially in mental health services. In 1860 Nightingale set up the first nurse training school at St Thomas' Hospital, London. Nightingale's curriculum was largely base around nursing practice, with instruction focused upon the need for hygiene and task competence. Her methods are reflected in her "Notes on Nursing", (1898). Some other nurses at that time, notably Ethel Gordon Fenwick, were
Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery probationary period fall under two classifications. A common class woman who serves as student, upon completion, would receive a certain small amount of money plus a placement in a home or institution. An upper class woman or 'Lady', on the other hand, would have completed some education and would be given the opportunity to assist in the school. Uniforms were provided at any case, and they would be under the charge of a matron (and an assistant). Upon graduation, they would be given a chance to visit Florence Nightingale in her South Street apartment, a momentous occasion for few people