The Digital Revolution: Nursing in the Age of Technology

Exhibition runs 16 September 2026 – 2 March 2027

Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN

An exhibition exploring the changes, choices and challenges of the digital revolution in health care - from Florence Nightingale as one of the first data scientists to the futuristic machines of early Intensive Care units. The display will explore how we navigate healthcare in the digital age and recognise that care is always uniquely human. For information about our opening hours and associated events visit www.rcn.org.uk/whatson or view the exhibition online: The Digital Revolution: Nursing in the Age of Technology | Library | Exhibitions | Royal College of Nursing

‘Into the Ring’: The Rise of Trade Unionism in Nursing

RCN History of Nursing Annual Lecture

Thursday 29 October, doors open 6pm (talk starts 6.30)

Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN

Professor Sioban Nelson is a well-known nursing historian and policy scholar. In this talk, she will be presenting material from her current book project, “Object matters: A General History of Nursing Through Material Culture”. The book tackles the history of nursing through a series of objects from thirteenth-century hospital seals, to steamer trunks and boxing gloves. “Into the ring: Industrial legislation, nursing professional associations and the rise of trade unionism among nurses in Denmark, Canada and the United Kingdom in the 1970s” will take as its starting point the boxing gloves of the prominent Danish nursing leader, Kirsten Stallknecht. It will examine rising militancy among nurses in the 1970s, and the diverse ways the UK’s Royal College of Nursing, Denmark’s Danish Nurses Organization, and Canada’s Registered Nurses Association of Ontario navigated the rapidly changing industrial climate of the era and the consequences for the nursing profession.

Tickets are free and include light refreshments. Book at: https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/events/history-of-nursing-lecture-into-the-ring-rise-of-unionism-291026

Data, Statistics and the Rise of ‘Normal’ Health (online event)

Tuesday 19 November, 6pm

The history of data is also the surprising history of how the very notion of the normal came about and how it shaped us all, often while entrenching oppressive values. Before the 19th century, the term was rarely associated with human behaviour. Sarah Chaney explores how, from the 1830s, this branch of science really took off, with a proliferation of statistics: IQ tests, sex studies, a census of hallucinations and more.

Book your free place here: Data, Statistics and the history of ‘Normal’ health | Event | Royal College of Nursing

Digital Inclusion and Digital Exclusion: A History of Nursing Informatics (online event)

Monday 30 November, 5.30pm

Nursing informatics emerged from the first computers in health care settings in the 1960s, becoming an established field in the 1980s. Paula Procter, a key figure in the use of information technology in nursing since 1979, talks about important moments from her career. Meanwhile, Amanda Jackson will reflect on the growing challenges in community care arising from digital poverty. How can we make today’s digital world more equitable?

Book your free place here: Digital Inclusion and Digital Exclusion: A History of Nursing Informatics | Event | Royal College of Nursing

Sarah Chaney (she/her)

Museum & Events Manager (Mon/Tues)

Library and Museum

Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN

02345 337 3368

www.rcn.org.uk/library

Exhibitions | Library | Royal College of Nursing