author
Annette Fiske
1873–1953
A college-educated nurse and writer, Annette Fiske brought practical experience to early twentieth-century nursing education. Her clear, hands-on works helped explain anatomy, physiology, and the changing profession of nursing to students and working nurses.
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About the author
Annette Fiske (1873–1953) was an American nurse, educator, and author from Cambridge, Massachusetts. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Radcliffe College before training at the Waltham Training School for Nurses, where she pursued a career in private-duty nursing.
Fiske later taught at the Waltham Training School from 1918 until it closed in 1932. Her best-known book, Structure and Functions of the Body (1911), was written as a practical handbook of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others seeking a working knowledge of the human body.
She also wrote about nursing practice and history, including First Fifty Years of the Waltham Training School for Nurses (1949). Her work reflects a period when nursing was becoming more organized, professional, and closely connected to higher education.