Analysis of the Performance of Nursing Schools in Iran in the Pahlavi Era; A Case Study of Isfahan (1925- 1979)

Optimal health care depends on facilities and conditions, such as equipment, medicine and specialized personnel, such as doctors and nurses. Concerning medicine, though briefly, one may find some information, there is scarce information regarding nursing services. It is common knowledge that one main reason for the patient’s recovery and health is how they are cared for. As a profession in Iran, nursing training officially dates back to the late Qajar period. During this period, by opening schools, religious missionaries attempted to educate and train nurses, positively affecting the health status and attitude of the people.Since the Pahlavi era, the government made an effort to open nursing schools which led to the development of the education and training of specialized nurses. The present study intends to deal with the formation of nursing schools and their performance, as well as the measures taken in the Pahlavi period in this regard in Iran, especially in Isfahan. It seems that although public schools and charity organizations have taken various progressive measures in this direction, they, for various reasons, failed to train enough nurses to meet the needs of medical centers. On the other hand, in the Pahlavi II period, charities took the largest share in the training of nurses.