from PART III - ASSISTED REPRODUCTION
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
INTRODUCTION
The world first heard about in vitro fertilization (IVF) with the miraculous birth of Louise Brown on July 25, 1978. The work of Dr. Patrick Steptoe and Dr. Robert Edwards of Bourn Hall at Cambridge, England, and gave the world its first glimpse of the newest obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) branch – reproductive medicine (1). Louise's birth gave hope to millions of infertile couples – the dream of family now aided by science and medicine with real possibilities of success.
On the front lines of this emerging specialty was Jean Marion Purdy, the first IVF nurse. Jean Purdy was an operating room nurse and laboratory technician working at Bourn Hall, side by side with Dr. Steptoe and Dr. Edwards. She developed the first aspiration catheter, was the first person to provide a written description of the human blastocyst, and was the first nurse to work with urinary lutenizing hormones (1). She opened a door for a nursing role never before seen and one that has grown and evolved since its inception. Today, nurses have multiple opportunities in this still emerging field to fulfill a critical role, while also adding to its development. Jean Purdy's legacy challenges the reproductive endocrinology nurse.
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) both in academic and independent practice settings will continue to attract the best and the brightest in OB/GYN (2).
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