[Nuns and nursing care in the middle of the 20th century]

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the connection between the life of nine nuns in the Augustian order, simultaneously working as nurses in the middle of the 20th century. To get an extensive idea about this period, the nuns, now 60 to 84 years old, were asked about their life at that time in narrative interviews. They had all worked between 1930 and 1960 as nurses. Through content analysis according to Mayring (1997) the authors generated the core category "We have always been there". This category shows that nuns constantly had to be present for patients, nurses, medication and the head of the order, that they were held responsible for all care and that they had to be available for the order and the hospital all day and night. The head of the order determined where they had to work. These irregular working hours and the fact that they frequently took over management positions prematurely led young nuns beyond their physical and psychological limits. Their religion should serve as "source of effort" for their work as nurses.