You are on page 1of 18

I.

Nursing as a Profession According to Citizens Commission on Human rights: Nurses acknowledge that the nursing profession is an essential part of the society from which it has grown. The authority for the practice of nursing is based upon a social contract that delineates professional rights and responsibilities as well as mechanisms for public accountability. The practice of nursing involves altruistic (humane) behavior and is governed by a code of ethics. Nursing has developed an extensive body of knowledge and associated skills that require extensive study to master. There are a number of educational paths to becoming a professional nurse but all involve extensive study of nursing theory and practice and training in clinical skills. In almost all countries, nursing practice is defined and governed by law. Entrance to the profession and nursing practice are regulated by national, state, or territorial boards of nursing. A. Profession 1. Definition It is an occupation or calling requiring advanced training and experience in some specific or specialized body of knowledge which provides service to society in that special field. (Webster) It is a calling that requires special knowledge, skill and preparation. An occupation that requires advanced knowledge and skills and that it grows out of societys needs for special services. 2. Criteria of a profession A profession must satisfy an indispensable social need and must be based upon well established and socially accepted scientific principles. It must demand adequate pre-professional and cultural training It must demand a possession of a body of specialized and systematized training. It must give evidence of needed skills which the public does not possess; that is, skills which are partly acquired. It must have developed a scientific technique which is the result of tested experience. It must require the exercise of discretion and judgment as to time and manner of the performance of duty. This is in contrast to the kind of work which is subject to standardization in terms of unit performance or time element. It must have a group of consciousness designed to extend scientific knowledge in technical language.

It must have sufficient self-impelling power to retain its member throughout life. It must not be used as a mere stepping stone to other occupations. It must recognize its obligations to society by insisting that its member live up to an established code of ethics.(Venzon,p6) To provide a needed service to the society. To advance knowledge in its field. To protect its members and make it possible to practice effectively.[Venzon,2005] Characteristics of a Profession: A basic profession requires an extended education of its members, as well as a basic liberal foundation. A profession has a theoretical body of knowledge leading to defined skills, abilities and norms. A profession provides a specific service. Members of a profession have autonomy in decision-making and practice. The profession has a code of ethics for practice.[Venzon,2005] B. Nursing 1. Definition Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities; prevention of illness and injury; alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses; and advocacy in health care for individuals, families, communities, and populations.[American Nurses Association] Nursing encompasses: Autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. It includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles.[International Council of Nurses] The use of clinical judgment in the provision of care to enable people to: Improve, maintains, or recovers health,

cope with health problems,

Achieve the best possible quality of life, whatever their disease or disability, until death."[Royal College of Nursing UK] Nursing is the: Protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities; Prevention of illness and injury; Alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses; Advocacy in health care for individuals, families, communities, and populations.[American Nurses Association] The unique function of the nurse is: To assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge.[Virginia Avenel Henderson] 2. Characteristics of Nursing: Nursing is caring. Nursing involves close personal contact with the recipient of care. Nursing is concerned with services that take humans into account as physiological, psychological, and sociological organisms. Nursing is committed to promoting individual, family, community, and national health goals in its best manner possible. Nursing is committed to personalized services for all persons without regard to color, creed, social or economic status. Nursing is committed to involvement in ethical, legal, and political issues in the delivery of health care.[Venzon,2005] 3. Focus: Human Responses Nursing profession focuses on: The clients response to illness rather than on the illness. Assisting individuals in learning to care for them whenever possible and of caring for them when they are unable to meet their own needs. Scientific caring for the ill, resulting in change from mystical beliefs to sophisticated technology and caring. Uses caring behaviors, critical thinking skills, and scientific knowledge.

Promotion of health and assists clients moves to a higher level of wellness, including assistance during a terminal illness with the maintenance of comfort and dignity during the final stage of life. 4. Personal and professional qualities of a nurse Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. Must be physically and mentally fit. Must have a license to practice nursing in the country. Interest and willingness to work and learn with individuals/groups in variety of setting. A warm personality and concern for people. Resourcefulness and creativity as well as a well-balanced emotional condition; Capacity and ability to work cooperatively with others; Initiative to improve self and service; Competence in performing work through the use of nursing process 10. Skill in decision-making, communicating, and relating with others and being research oriented; and 11. Active participation in issues confronting nurses and nursing.(Venzon, p6) v A professional nurse therefore, is a person who has completed a basic nursing education program and is licensed in his country to practice professional nursing.

. HISTORY OF NURSING 1. IN THE WORLD DATE EVENTS 4000 B.C. Primitive societies 3000 B.C. The Egyptian goddess Isis and her son Horus were regarded as creators of the medical arts. They used the medium of dreams to minister to the sick. 2000 B.C.

Babylonia and Assyria 1900B.C. In a Babylonian sickroom, healers and assistants followed the Code of Hammurabi to cure and to provide care. 800 600 B.C Health religions of India 700 B.C. Greece: source of modern medical science 460 B.C. Hippocrates, father of Medicine 50 BC The ancient Greek gods were believed to have special healing powers. In this detail from the bowl of Sosias, Achilles bandages the wounds of Patroclus. In ancient culture, the nurturing functions of the nurse included roles of midwives, herbalist, wet nurse, and carer for children and the elderly 3 B.C. Ireland: pre- Christian nursing 400A.D. Fabiola: first hospital founded during the Roman Empire, viewed by some as the patron saint of early nursing used position and wealth to establish hospitals for the sick. 390 407 Early Christianity, deaconesses 711 Field hospital with nursing, Spain 1096 1291 Military Nursing Orders (knights Hospitalers of St. John in Jerusalem. During the crusades, military Knighthood orders were established to provide care to soldiers and pilgrims to the Holy Land. This may be the first recognition of men providing nursing care. 1099 AD: Christians Sisters of the Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem embroidered the cross on their tunics to represent their Christian charity.

1100 Ambulatory Clinics, Spain Moslems 1200 Nursing Care of Outcasts The Knights of St. Lazarus dedicated themselves to the care of people with leprosy, syphilis, and chronic skin conditions. From the time of Christ to the midthirteenth century, leprosy was viewed as an incurable and terminal disease. 1440 First Chairs of medicine, Oxford and Cambridge 1550 Charitable Nursing Camillus DeLellis, considered the patron saint of nurses, was the founder of the Nursing Order of Ministries of the Sick. His first efforts focused on preparing nurses to provide care for the poor, the imprisoned, and the dying. 1500 1752 Deterioration of hospitals and nursing, dark ages of nursing 1639 Early Canadian Hospitals The Hotel Dieu Hospital in Quebec, founded by the Duchesse d Aiguillon and staffed by three hospital Sisters from the Order of St. Augustine, is considered the first hospital in Canada. In 1644, Jeanne Mance , known as the Florence Nightingale of Canada, founded the Hotel Dieu in Montreal. 1633 Founded: Daughters of Charity 1812 In Sidney, Australias first hospital was named for its designer and builder, Governor Lachlan Macquarie. 1820 Florence Nightingale born 1836 Kaiserwert, Lutheran Order of Deaconness reestablished 1841 Founded: Nursing sisters of the Holy Cross 1848

Womens Rights Convention, Seneca falls, New York 1854 1856 Crimean War 1854 Mary Grant Seacole Jamaican nurse (1805-1881) worked with Florence Nightingale to provide care to the soldiers of the Crimean war. 1859 Florence Nightingale considered the founder of modern nursing, Nightingale (1820-1910), was influential in developing nursing education, practice, and administration. Her 1859 publication, Notes on Nursing: What it is and what it is not, was intended for all women, published in England 1860 Founded:first Nightingale School of Nursing, St.Thomas Hospital, London 1861 1865 Civil War, United States. 1861-1865 : Harriet Tubman - Tubman (1820-1913) was known as The Moses of her People for her work with the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, she nursed the sick and suffering of her own race. 1861 : Dorothea Dix appointed Superintendent of the Female Nuses of the Union Army. After the war, she returned to her work with the mentally ill. 1862-1863: Louisa May Alcot Noted author Alcot (1832-1888) worked as a nurse at the Union Hospital in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War, and documented the work of Civil War volunteer nurses in her book, Hospital Sketches. 1862-1865: Walt Whitman writer and poet Whitman (1819-1882) was a volunteer nurse during the Civil War, and chronicled the care of the ill in the collection of poetry, Drum taps, and in his diary, Specimen Days. 1862-1865: Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), abolitionist, Underground Railroad agent, preacher, and womens rights advocate, was a nurse for over four years during the Civil war and worked as a nurse/counselor for the Freedmens Relief Association after the war. 1864: The International Red Cross During the Geneva Convention, Jean Henri Dunant of Switzerland organized the international conference that founded the Red Cross, for the relief of suffering in war. 1868

Lucy Osborne Osborne(1835-1891) trained under Nightingale at St. Thomas Hospital in London, then became Superintendent at Sydney Hospital and developed Australias first school for nurses. 1871 Founded: New York Training School for Nurses, Brooklyn Maternity, Brooklyn New York 1872 Early Nursing Schools - Womans Hospital in Philadelphia and New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston opened training programs for nurses. 1872 New England Hospital for Womens one year program for nurses yields Americas first trained nurse, Linda Richard, graduated from England Hospital for Women and Children training school for nurses, and is considered Americas first trained nurse. 1873 Founded: first three Nightingale schools in United States: Bellevue (New York City), Connecticut, and Massachusetts General 1876 Clara Louisse Maass Maass(1876-1901) worked as a contract nurse with the U.S. Army during the Spanish American. Volunteering to nurse victims of yellow fever in Cuba, she died after allowing herself to be bitten by a mosquito as an experiment on immunity. 1879 Mary Mahoney Mary Mahoney (1819-1882) became Americas first trained black nurse when she graduated from New England Hospital for Women and Children training school for nurses. Adelaide Nutting (1845 1926), she was the first nurse appointed as a university professor. 1881 Founded: American red Cross, by Clara Barton 1882 Clara Barton and the American Red Cross Barton (1812-1912) organized the American National Red Cross, which linked with the international Red Cross when the United States Congress ratified the Geneva Convention. 1884 Mary Agnes Snively Canadian born Mary Agnes Snively (1847-1933), a graduate of the Bellevue Hospital Training School for Nurses in New York, returned to Canada to develop the

Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing. She was the first president of the Canadian Nurses Association. 1886 Lavinia Dock (1858 1956), she worked at the Henry Street Settlement House in new York City, caring for the indigent. She wrote one of the first nursing textbooks, Materia Medica for Nurse. She was the first editor of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN). 1892 Founded: Ballard school at YMCA 1899 The International Council of Nurses (ICN) was established by Mrs. Bedford Fenwick of Great Britain. Nurses from the United States and Canada were among the founders, and their national associations among the first admitted to membership. 1900 The American Journal of Nursing was the first nursing journal in the United States to be owned, operated, and published by nurses. 1903

New York: efforts fail to pass a nurse licensing law.

North Carolina: first state nurse registration law passes.

Founded: Army nursing Corps

1907

Thompson Practical Nursing School in Brattleboro, VT established.

1908

The Canadian Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses and the Canadian National Association for Trained Nurses joined to become the Canadian Nurses Association.

1910

Flexner report

1911

Founded: American Nurses Association (ANA), formerly Associated Alumnae.

1912

Founded: national league of Nursing Education, formerly the Superintendents Society. Today, the NLN is the accrediting body of all schools of nursing in the United States.

1914

Mississippi is first state to license practical nurses.

1916

Margaret Sanger Nurse Activist Margaret Sanger, considered the founder of Planned Parenthood, was imprisoned for opening the first birth control information clinic in Baltimore.

1917

Smith-Hughes Act passes (provided federal funds for practical nursing programs in vocational schools)

1918

Household Nursing Association School of Attendant Nursing in Boston, MA, established

1920s

First prepaid medical plan established, Pacific Northwest.

1921

Lavinia Dock nursing Leader and Suffragist, was active in protest movement for womens rights that resulted in the United States Constitution amendment allowing women to vote.

1922

Sigma Theta Tau Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society that promotes nursing research and leadership, was founded the Indiana University School of Nursing.

1923

Goldmark Report: Nursing and Nursing Education in United States

1925

The Frontier Nursing Service- Mary Breckenridge, a nurse who practices midwifery in England, Australia, and New Zealand, founded the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky to provide family-centered primary health care to rural populations.

1935

Social Security Act passes

1941

Founded: Association of Practical Nursing Schools

1942

Association of Practical nursing Schools becomes national Association of Practical Nurse Education

1943-1945 1943-19

WWII

The Cadet Nurse Corps. Through the United States

Cadet Nurse Corps, the federal government subsidized

the cost of nursing education for all students agreeing

to serve in civilian or military nursing services for the

duration of the war: The corps was discontinued in

1944: U.S. Department of Vocational

Education commissions intensive study of differentiate tasks of the practical nurse.

1945

New York only state to have mandatory licensure law for practical nurses

1948

Brown Report: Future of Nursing

1949

Founded: National federation of Licensed Practical Nurses

1952

National League of Nursing Education changes name to National League for Nursing (NLN)

1953

The NSA. The National Student Nurses Association was founded to promote professionalism among students and prepare them for membership in ANA.

1955

Practical nursing established under (Title III) Health Amendment Act.

All states pass licensure laws affecting practical/vocational nursing.

1959

National Association of Practical Nurse Education

Changes name to National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Service.

1960s

Established: Medicare and Medicaid

1961

National League for Nursing establishes a Council for Practical Nursing Programs

1963-1975

The Vietnam War. More than 5,000 nurses served in Vietnam, and a 1966 Congressional bill allowed the appointment of male nurses to the Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse Corps.

1965

First Nurse practitioner program, pediatric

ANA position paper on entry into practice

1966

Educational opportunity grants for nurses.

1970

Secretarys commission to study extended roles for nurses.

1971

The NBNA. Dr. Lauranne Sams served as first president at the National Black Nurses Association.

Independent Practitioner. M. Lucille Kinlein became the first nurse to hang out her shingle as an independent practitioner.

1973

Health Maintenance Organization Act Rural health Clinic Service Act.

ANA Specialty Certification. The ANA began a certification program for nurses in specialty practice. Medical-Surgical Nursing was the first specialty to be recognized in this program.

1974

The NHNA. Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rohde, JMR, PhD, ND, FAAN, served as the first president of the National Hispanic Nurses Association.

1977

Rural health Clinic Service Act

1979

U.S. Surgeon General report Healthy People

1980

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA)

1982

Budget cut to Health maintenance Organization Act

1983

Institute of medicine Committee on Nursing and Nursing Education study

1987

Secretarys Commission on Nursing

1990s

Health care reform

1991

U.S. Department Health and Human Services Healthy people 2000

1992

The U.S. House of Representatives. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas became the first nurse to be elected to the United States House of Representatives.

U.S. Public Health Service. As Chief Nurse Officer; Rear Admiral Julia R. Plotnick, RN,BSN,MPH is an active leader in policy coordination for the U.S. Surgeon general and provides leadership to 6500 nurse within the Public Health Service.

1993

The NIH. Under the directorship of Aida Sue Hinshaw, PhD, RN, FAAN, the National center for Nursing Research became the National institute for Nursing Research within the National Institutes for Health.

1996

Certification Examination for Practical and Vocational Nurses in Long-term Care

1997

Established: NLN Accrediting Commission (NLNAC)

2000

U.S. Department Health and Human Services.

Healthy People 2010

(kozier, 2004; white,2005)

You might also like