On Duty

On Duty provides the much needed context to understand the rich and complicated history of nursing in New Jersey. This particular history also provides the background to think about how we might move forward as a profession in meeting the health care needs of those entrusted to our care. On Duty promises to make an important contribution to this emerging area of study. Patricia D'Antonio, University of Pennsylvania

Frances Ward brings intelligence, first-hand experience, enthusiasm, and incredible depth of research to her work. On Duty is the sentinel publication on the evolution of nursing as a profession in New Jersey and makes a significant contribution to the literature on nursing history in the United States. Stanley S. Bergen, Jr., founding president emeritus, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

Frances Ward's scholarly labor delivers a history with fidelity to the vision, intelligence, resourcefulness, and political awareness of nurses committed to advancing the discipline. No one is better suited to tell this story. Ward's role in the continuously evolving history of nursing in New Jersey has been a substantial one. David Anthony (Tony) Forrester, professor, School of Nursing, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

Ward highlights organized nurses' role in aligning their political forces with other national and local women's movements in their struggle for equality. Her account of the legislative battles and their successes, as well as the individual risks taken, provides today's nurse activists insight and hope for the future of healthcare. Registered Nurse Magazine

Frances Ward presents a detailed and intelligent history of the professional evolution of nursing. Historians of nursing and health care, and scholars of the history of professions, will find in On Duty a lucid case study of social, political and legal forces that shape nursing. The depth of her connection to her subject matter, and her passion for her topic make this an important addition to the literature.
Social History of Medicine

The history of nursing in New Jersey provides a good benchmark from which to examine the history of nursing in other states. The author ends her well-researched book with a reflection on her personal experiences as a nurse practitioner and her freedom to be able to practice as an autonomous nursing professional. This book fills an important gap in the history of nursing. Nursing History Review

Ward covers a long chronological span and provides one part of a complicated history that examines how nurses gained power and used the legislative and professional status. American Historical Review