The newest client of Continental TravelNurse is also one of the oldest and most prestigious hospitals in the world. Indeed, Guy’s and St. Thomas’s are two of London’s – and indeed the world’s – best-known teaching hospitals.
St. Thomas’s is old even by the standards of London, a city where a 170 year old pub can be casually referred to as “the new pub” because it replaced an even older pub on the same site. But St. Thomas’s has a 900 year history, respectable by anyone’s standards. It’s been around since the 12th century and was named after Thomas Becket (the martyred saint who stood up to Henry II) from the get-go or within its first century. A few hundred years later, St. Thomas’s was rededicated to Thomas the Apostle, hence the odd spelling of its name.
Few hospitals can claim the lineage of this institution. Florence Nightingale opened the first nursing school in the world at St. Thomas’s in 1860, just to name one notable fact. It’s been the site of filming for everything from a “Doctor Who” episode (in which St. Thomas’s was seen transplanted onto the moon) to the acclaimed zombie movie “28 Days Later.”
Guys Hospital is a relative youngster founded in 1721 (that’s about 600 years after St. Thomas’s!). But the famous doctors who have walked through its doors include people who have discovered Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Addison’s disease and -- more positively – penicillin. The poet John Keats was even a student at Guy’s. (Maybe he should have studied more – Keats would die of tuberculosis.)
Together these institutions remain vibrant, top-notch and truly historic hospitals that are a memorable privilege to work at.
Go to our main Continental Travelnurse website to learn more and get contact information.
