Introduction to Nursing History

Introduction to Nursing

• Nursing is an art and a science
• Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on individual, family, and community care to help achieve, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life
• Nurses play a critical role in patient care, working closely with other healthcare professionals (doctors, pharmacists, therapists)
• Nursing career opportunities are limitless, including clinical practice, education, research, management, administration, and innovation

Historical Highlights

• 4000 BC: Primitive societies, mother-nurses worked with priests
• 2000 BC: Babylonia and Assyria used wet nurses
• 800-600 BC: Health religions of India
• 700 BC: Greece, source of modern medical science
• 460 BC: Hippocrates
• 3 BC: Ireland, pre-Christian nursing
• AD 390: Fabiola, founded first hospital
• 390-407: Early Christianity, deaconesses
• 711: Field hospital with nursing, Spain
• 1100: Ambulatory clinics, Spain (Moslems)
• 1440: First Chairs of Medicine, Oxford and Cambridge
• 1522: Military nursing orders
• 1600-1752: Deterioration of hospitals and nursing
• 1633: Founded: Daughters of Charity
• 1820: Florence Nightingale born
• 1826: Kaiserwerth deaconesses reestablished
• 1837: First American college for women, Mount Holyoke
• 1841: Founded: Nursing Sisters of the Holy Cross
• 1848: Women's Rights Convention, Seneca Falls, New York
• 1854-1856: Crimean War
• 1859: Nightingale's Notes on Nursing published in England
• 1860: First Nightingale School of Nursing, St. Thomas' Hospital, London
• 1861-1865: Civil War, United States

Evolution of Nursing

• Early Civilizations: Nursing dates back to 4000 BC, mother-nurses worked with priests, and wet nurses were used in 2000 BC
• Ancient Greece: Ancient Greeks built temples and priestesses attended to those housed in the temples. Nursing was done by women in the home
• Roman Empire: Hospitals were first established, caregivers had no formal training in therapeutic modalities, and volunteered their time

Middle Ages

• Hospitals in large Byzantine cities were staffed primarily by paid male assistants and male nurses, but in the rural parts of the Eastern Roman Empire and the West, nursing was viewed as a job for women

Renaissance

• Interest in arts and sciences emerged in AD 1400-1550
• Universities were established
• Nursing schools were not founded
• Women continued to fulfill the traditional role of nurturer/caregiver in the home

Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution

• Medical schools, including the Royal College of Surgeons in London, were founded in 1800
• Nursing was considered unseemly for women
• Most nursing care was performed in the home by female relatives of the ill

Florence Nightingale

• Founder of modern nursing
• Wealthy upper-class family in England during the mid-1800s
• Interested in relieving suffering and caring for the sick
• Became a nurse despite societal and family objections
• Established the first nursing philosophy based on health maintenance and restoration
• Implemented principles in nursing practice and environmental modifications during the war, reducing morbidity and mortality rates.
• Organized and improved the quality of sanitation at Barracks Hospital in Scutari, Turkey reducing mortality from 42.7% to 2.2% in 6 months.
• Established the Nightingale Training School of Nurses at St Thomas' Hospital in London, which was the first nursing school providing theory-based knowledge and clinical skill building
• First practicing nurse epidemiologist
• Statistical analyses connected poor sanitation with cholera and dysentery
• Volunteered during the Crimean War and travels to battlefield hospitals at night carrying her lamp.

Twentieth Century

• Beginning of the 20th century brought changes influencing contemporary nursing
• Concepts of third-party payments and pre-paid health insurance were instituted
• Public Health Nursing gained importance
• Nursing became more specialized and autonomous
• Reports were issued concerning nursing education and practice
• Nursing education moved from the hospital setting to higher education institutions

The History of Nursing in Turkey

• Besim Ömer Akalın Pasha emphasized the need for special training in nursing education in Turkey. The very first formal six-month nursing education program start in 1911
• American Bristol Health School opened a 2.5-year nursing education program for the American Hospital in 1920
• Kızılay Nursing School (established due to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's efforts in 1925).
• Other nursing schools opened in the 1940s and 1950s.
• First bachelor-degree program in nursing opened in 1955 at Ege University
• Florence Nightingale School of nursing opened in 1961 at Istanbul University
• Master's degree program in nursing began in 1968
• First nursing doctorate program began in 1972 at Hacettepe University School of Nursing.
• Turkish Nurses Association (TNA) was established in 1933 and became a member of International Council of Nurses (ICN) in 1949

Leader Nurses in Turkey

• Esma Deniz was the first nurse to graduate and postgraduate from a university
• Perihan Velioğlu receive training in surgical nursing in England, returning to Turkey with many innovations in the field of surgery
• Leman Birol was the first tile of nurse professor from Boston University. She was one of the founders of the Oncology Nursing Association and wrote numerous basic nursing textbooks

Nursing Education

• Educational preparation for nursing practice involves various programs globally.
• Two entry-level programs available in the United States: licensed practical nurse (LPN) or vocational nurse (LVN) and registered nurse (RN)
• An LPN or LVN is trained in basic nursing skills, receives guidance and works under supervision of a RN or other healthcare practitioner.
• RN candidates graduate from state-approved programs, many accredited nationally
• Associate degree program in the United States usually is a 2-year program typically offered by a university or community college.
• Bachelor's degree program usually involves 4 years of study in a college or university.
• Graduates from both programs take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN® to become RNs

Post-Graduate Education

• Post-graduate education includes master's or doctoral degree programs in nursing
• A master's degree is important for roles like nurse educator and nurse administrator.
• Doctoral-degree programs in nursing prepare graduates to apply research findings to clinical practice, basic research, and theory.

Nursing Professional Responsibilities and Roles

• Nurses provide care and comfort in all health care settings, focusing on patient needs, health promotion, disease/symptom management, family support and end-of-life care
• Autonomy: Independent nursing interventions without medical orders.
• Accountability: Professional and legal responsibility for nursing care quality and type.
• Nurse as a Caregiver: Assist patients maintain/regain health, manage diseases/symptoms and attain maximum levels of functioning
• Nurse as an Advocate: Protecting patient's human and legal rights and assisting patients/families

Nursing Roles (continued)

• Educator: Explain health concepts, facts, reasons behind care activities, and practice procedures. Communicate with patients, families, other nurses, and the community.
• Manager: Establish collaborative patient-centered care environments to provide quality care with positive patient outcomes.
• Career Development: Lifelong learning opportunities to provide state-of-the-art care and career advancement possibilities.

Standards of Practice

• Authoritative statements that describe competent nursing care based on the nursing process: Assessment, Diagnosis, Outcomes Identification, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation.

Explore the evolution of nursing from ancient times to the present. This quiz covers key historical milestones, the development of nursing as a profession, and the critical role nurses play in healthcare today. Test your knowledge on the fascinating journey of nursing through the ages.