Lisbeth Hockey OBE FRCN (17 October 1918 – 16 June 2004) was an Austrian-born British nurse and researcher. She was the first director of the Nursing Research Unit in Edinburgh. She was awarded a PhD for research in nursing, one of the first people to do so.

Lisbeth Hockey
Born1918
Died2004
Occupationnurse educator
EmployerUniversity of Edinburgh

Early life edit

Lisbeth Hochsinger was born on 17 October 1918 in Graz, Austria.[1] In 1936 she began studying medicine at the University of Graz where she completed three years of the course before being sent away from the threatening political situation in Hitler's Germany.[2][3] She was unaware that her family had some Jewish ancestry, but later both her parents were taken to concentration camps where they died.[4][5] With assistance from the Society of Friends, Hochsinger arrived in England in 1938 and went to Devon to stay with a brigadier and his wife.[1][4] She first worked as a governess for their children and learned sufficient English to start nursing training in London.[5]

Nursing career edit

In 1939 she was accepted to do her general nurse training at The London Hospital.[6] She left the London Hospital on account of a new rule that stopped non-British subjects from nursing people who could be prisoners of war.[4] She was allowed to train at Coppetts Wood Hospital in Muswell Hill and she qualified as a fever nurse in 1943.[4][7] She then went to the Peace Memorial Hospital in Watford, completing her general nursing training in 1945.[6] She changed her name to Hockey in 1949.[8] She went to the North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton and studied for her Midwifery Part 1.[9] For the second part of her midwifery training she chose to go to Essex where she would spend time in the district.[4] In 1950 she gained a health visitor qualification from Battersea Polytechnic.[10]

In 1965, she began working at the Queen's Institute of District Nursing in London, first as a tutor and then as a research officer.[3] In 1970 she gained a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of London.[11]

In October 1971, Hockey was appointed the first director of the Nursing Research Unit in Edinburgh.[12] It was the first nursing research unit at a British University.[5] She completed a PhD in 1979, an uncommon achievement.[13] Her PhD was awarded by City University, London and although her thesis was not published, A Study of District Nursing: the development and progression of a long term research programme provided an early description of the responsibilities involved.[14]: 3 

Later life edit

Although retired, she remained active in the nursing world.[13] The last year of her life was spent in a nursing home.[15] She died in Edinburgh on 16 June 2004.[1]

Awards and honours edit

She was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1979 Birthday Honours.[16][17]

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) made her a fellow in 1980.[3] She was made an honorary fellow by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in 1982, the first nurse to be honoured this way.[18] It would be more than twenty years before another nurse was given this same honour.[19] She was proud of this honour, having always intended to care for the whole person.[3][4] In 1987 she was made an Honorary Member of the Austrian Nursing Association.[20]

In 2000 she received the Gold Medal of Honour from the Queen's Nursing Institute, only the fourth person to receive this honour.[21]

She was bestowed with honorary degrees from the University of Alberta in 1980,[22] University of Uppsala in 1985[23] and the Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh in 1995.[5]

Bibliography edit

  • Feeling the Pulse (1966)[24]
  • Care in the Balance (1968)[25]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Obituaries. Lisbeth Hockey. Pioneer of nursing research". The Independent. 24 June 2004. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Lisbeth Hochsinger's University of Graz study book [inside front cover only]: Includes photograph of Lisbeth. 1936–1938. RCN Archives C/300/1/2/3". sites.nursing.manchester.ac.uk. University of Manchester. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d McIntosh, Jean (2004). "Obituary. Dr Lisbeth Hockey, OBE, FRCN 1918 2004. An Appreciation of her Contribution to the Nursing Profession". Primary Health Care Research and Development. 5: 367–368. doi:10.1191/1463423604pc226xx.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Royal College of Nursing archive: C/300/8/1. Lisbeth Hockey talking to Anne Marie Rafferty". Royal College of Nursing. 27 December 1987. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d "Lisbeth Hockey". The Scotsman. 25 June 2004. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Royal College of Nursing archive: C/300 Lisbeth Hockey". Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Lisbeth Hockey's Fever Nurse training certificate, 26th February 1943. RCN Archives C/300/1/4/2". sites.nursing.manchester.ac.uk. University of Manchester. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Royal College of Nursing Archives: C/300/9/2. 'Shrodells, Watford' badge". Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Royal College of Nursing archive: C/300/7/4. North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton: entrance". Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  10. ^ "C/300/1/3/6. The Royal Sanitary Institute list of successful candidates Health Visitors' examination". Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  11. ^ "C/300/1/3/12. University of London, Faculty of Economics, B.Sc, (Economics) Examination pass list". Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Complexities of nursing today". The Glasgow Herald. 4 March 1972. p. 7. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  13. ^ a b Tschudin, Verena (March 2002). "Interview: Lisbeth Hockey". Nursing Ethics. 9 (2): 123–125. doi:10.1191/0969733002ne492xx. PMID 11944203. S2CID 220753109.
  14. ^ Pellett, Candice (2016). Discharge planning. Best practice in transitions of care (PDF) (Report). Queen's Nursing Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  15. ^ Goodman, Claire (27 September 2013). "Dr Lisbeth Hockey 1918–2004 'A pioneer of nursing research'". British Journal of Community Nursing. 9 (8): 331. doi:10.12968/bjcn.2004.9.8.15354. PMID 15365471.
  16. ^ "Supplement to The London Gazette of Monday, 25th June 1979". The Gazette. p. B54. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  17. ^ "News: Congratulations". Journal of Advanced Nursing. 4 (6): 673. November 1979. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.1979.tb00900.x.
  18. ^ "New honour". The Glasgow Herald. 22 December 1982. p. 6. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  19. ^ "GPs honour nurse adviser". Nursing Standard. 19 (11): 5. 30 November 2004. doi:10.7748/ns.19.11.5.s7.
  20. ^ "C/300/6/10. Honorary Member of the Austrian Nursing Association". rcnarchive.rcn.org.uk. Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Nursing's own gold medallist". Nursing Standard. 15 (10): 5. 22 November 2000. doi:10.7748/ns.15.10.5.s10.
  22. ^ "C/300/6/3 Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree, University of Alberta". rcnarchive.rcn.org.uk. Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Academic traditions > Prizes > Honorary doctorates". University of Uppsala. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  24. ^ Feeling the pulse: a survey of district nursing in six areas. WorldCat. OCLC 900647.
  25. ^ Care in the balance : a study of collaboration between hospital and community services. WorldCat. OCLC 31795.

External links edit

  • profile at the UK Centre for the History of Nursing
  • Lisbeth Hockey at the Royal College of Nursing archive