History of Nursing Pioneers Quiz

Theory of Animism

• In ancient Greece, temples became centers of medical care, and illness was believed to be caused by sin and god's displeasure.
• Nurses cared for people in the home and community.
• Ancient Greeks and Hebrews developed the Ten Commandments and Mosaic Health Code, which addressed human relationships, mental health, and disease control.

Influential Nurses in History

• Sojourner Truth (1864): Provided care to soldiers during the Civil War, advocated for abolition, temperance, and civil and women's rights, and met with President Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
• Dorothea Dix (1836): Served as superintendent of Female Nurses of the Army during the Civil War, recruited nurses, and fought to reform treatment for mental illness; founded the first Public Mental Health Hospital in America.
• Clara Barton (1882): Known as the "angel of the battlefield" during the Civil War, tended to wounds, and fed injured Union soldiers; assigned special duties by President Lincoln; helped the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian war; and established the Red Cross in the US.
• Linda Richards (1874): First professionally trained nurse in the US; established nursing training programs in the US and Japan; created the first system for keeping individual medical records for hospitalized patients; introduced MD orders and nurse's notes.
• Harriet Tubman (1862): Provided care and safety to slaves on the underground railroad during the Civil War; first nursing program in a higher education university; introduced clinicals along with a formal curriculum.
• Mary Mahoney (1879): First African-American professional registered nurse; worked to provide good service to all patients; co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses to help other nurses of color get into the profession.
• Mary Breckenridge (1924): Established one of the first midwifery schools in the US; drove healthcare in rural communities.
• Lavinia Dock: Nurse leader, women's right activist; instrumental in the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote; historian who believed nursing would not be accepted as a profession until its history is soundly documented.
• Florence Nightingale (1860): Recognized that nutrition is important to health; instituted occupational and recreational therapy for sick people; stressed the need for continuing education for nurses; maintained accurate records, recognized as the beginnings of nursing research; implemented sanitation practices; reduced mortality from 42% to 2%.

Theory and Models in Nursing

• Theory of Animism: Believed that illness was caused by sin and god's displeasure.
• General Systems Theory: Used for universal applications; describes how to break whole things into parts and then learn how the parts work together in systems.
• Adaptation Theory: Describes the adjustment of living matter to other living things and environmental conditions; a continuous process of interaction and response.
• Developmental Theory: Describes the growth and development of humans as orderly and predictable, beginning with conception and ending with death; ability to be ethical begins in childhood and develops gradually.

Professional Behaviors of the Nurse

• Altruism: Putting the needs of others before one's own needs.
• Autonomy: Having the freedom to make decisions and act based on those decisions.
• Integrity: Being honest and morally upright.
• Human Dignity: Respecting the worth and dignity of every human being.
• Social Justice: Promoting fairness and equality for all individuals.

Nursing Image and Job Description

• Nursing Image: Perceptions and myths about nursing, including contemporary nursing images (positive and negative).
• Nurse Job Description (1887): Daily responsibilities included sweeping and mopping floors, dusting patient furniture and windowsills, maintaining an even temperature, and reporting to work at 7 am and leaving at 8 pm, except on the Sabbath.