Nursing became a profession in the late 19th century, opening a whole new career for middle-class talented women of all social and ethnic backgrounds. Graduates from nursing programs went to work at hospitals, nursing institutions, public health services, and military hospitals.
The major religious groups were active in establishing hospitals in many cities throughout the US. Many Catholic nuns specialized in nursing duties, while many women at this time got married and became private duty nurses in the homes and private hospital rooms of wealthy patients. The Catholic nuns had lifetime careers in the hospitals which enabled many hospitals like St. Vincent's Hospital in New York. At this hospital in particular, nurses from the “Sisters of Charity” treated patients of all backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses.