Mary Seacole

Biography

Born in Kingston Jamaica, this extraordinary woman named Mary Seacole was a daughter of a Scottish army officer and a Jamaican doctress. She had two siblings, a brother by the name of Edward and a sister named Louisa. Her mother was a well-reputed traditional healer and had a full grasp of folk medicine. She ran a hotel named Blundell Hall where she cared for civilians and naval officers suffering from a wide spectrum of diseases ranging from cholera to yellow fever. The combination of good hygiene practice, empathy, and herbal remedies made this place a healing heaven for the injured and diseased citizens (Ramdin, 2005). It was at this very place and under the influence of her mother that Mary Seacole started developing an interest in nursing and folk medicine. She closely observed her mother’s treatment methods and began experimenting and practicing medicine on her favorite childhood companion, her doll. Then she began her medical practice on animals and afterward started helping her mother in caring for the patients at Blundell Hall (Seacole, 2005). As her father was a prominent Scottish army officer therefore this acquainted her with the army camp life and war. Her visits to army camps made her familiar with the medicinal practices carried out by the army doctors and she was able to learn official treatment methods employed by the army doctors in treating the war injuries. At the young age of 19 (roughly around 1820s), Mary Seacole traveled to London with her relatives, where she came across the terms of racism and colorism. Although Jamaica (her birthplace) had an intensive class system based on skin color, with black deemed as the color of slavery, she never had to face any color-related issues partially due to her half Scottish-half Jamaican heritage and partially because she was a daughter of well-reputed parents. In London, apart from her encounter with colorism, she was also introduced to a city of trading and commercial opportunities (Josephs, 1991). In 1836, she tied the knot with a merchant by the name of Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole and after the death of her husband in 1844, she completely absorbed herself in her work. In 1851, she moved to Cruces (Central America) to meet her brother and offered her nursing services in the cholera epidemic of Panama. Then she traveled to England to care for the soldiers of the Crimean war. In 1856, the Crimean war was over, afterwards, she joined the Roman Catholic Church and returned to Jamaica where she was regarded as a highly reputable doctress. Later on, Mary Seacole moved back to London where she actively got involved with the royal circle and served also as a masseuse for the Princess of Wales (Robinson, 2019). 

Attributes and Values

Her leadership skills, in other words, her sense of responsibility in responding quickly to the individual needs of the patients is an excellent role model for modern nursing practices. This sense of responsibility stemmed from her empathetic nature and her nurturing mindset. An excellent example of her leadership skills is her services during the cholera pandemic of Panama. In 1951, during her stay with her brother in Panama, a cholera epidemic broke in Panama, and the scarcity of doctors further worsened the situation resulting in a high mortality rate. She single-handedly began the treatment of the patients, rich and poor, young, and elderly, men, women, and children. She used her knowledge in traditional medicine to devise an herbal syrup for the disease, although the treatment had a moderate success rate she never once wavered from her aim of caring for all those who were affected by this deadly epidemic.