The Nurse Who Introduced Gloves to the Operating Room

However obvious it seems today that protective gear can prevent infections, that hasn’t always been the case. Historically, even simple measures, such as doctors wearing gloves during surgery, were met with fierce resistance.

And while doctors’ lore usually credits a famous surgeon named William Halsted with introducing gloves to the surgical theater, this is a case where the lore is wrong. It wasn’t Halsted who introduced gloves but his now-forgotten assistants.