The Development of Nursing

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING BY F.PHIRI  DEFINITION OF TERMS Nursing Florence Nightingale defined nursing as "the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery" (Nightingale, 1860- 1969). Nightingale considered a clean, we...

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING BY F.PHIRI  DEFINITION OF TERMS Nursing Florence Nightingale defined nursing as "the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery" (Nightingale, 1860- 1969). Nightingale considered a clean, well- ventilated and quiet environment essential for recovery.  DEFINITION OF TERMS Nursing This is 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 and to do this in such a way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible" (Henderson, 1966).  DEFINITION OF TERMS 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 response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations" American Nurses Association (ANA, 2003).  DEFINITIONS Profession A profession is a specialized field where trained individuals apply advanced knowledge and skills to serve others, following ethical standards and public trust. A disciplined group of individuals who adhere to themselves and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognized, organized body of learning derived from education and training at a higher level and these skills are in the interest of others  DEFINITIONS Professional: A professional is a person formally certified by a professional body of belonging to a specific profession by virtue of having completed a required course of studies and/or practice and whose competence can usually be measured against an established set of standards  DEFINITIONS Professionalism: Competencies and professional conducts acquired through training and education which ensures that an individual is able to perform according to ethical standards recognized by the professional association or council.”  DEFINITIONS Professionalism refers to the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person.  DEFINITIONS ATTITUDE Attitude is a person's way of thinking or feeling about something, which influences their behavior. The settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior.  DEFINITIONS ETTIQUETTE The customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group. For example; in the nursing profession, a junior nurse is expected to stand for a senior nurse  DEFINITIONS ETHICS These are moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING Nursing is one of the world's most enduring professions. There is a long history of people devoting their lives to the care of the sick  INTERNATIONAL Early History In ancient times, there were no professional nurses. People cared for the ill in their homes or brought them to temples for healing  In the early days of Christianity, nursing and care of the sick began to be seen as an act of charity, and women especially were given the task of nursing.  Hospitals began to be built adjacent to monasteries and convents, and nuns and brothers cared for the poor and sick who were brought to them.  The sick, the mentally ill, the dying and the indigent were often seen as a burden on society and were often neglected.  Women's Roles From the beginning of time, women have cared for infants and children; thus, nursing could be said to have its roots in "the home.“ Additionally, women, who in general occupied a subservient and dependent role, were called on to care for others in the community who were ill  The traditional nursing role has always entailed humanistic caring, nurturing, comforting, and supporting.  Religion Religion has also played a significant role in the development of nursing. It was the Christian value of "love thy neighbour as thyself“and Christ's parable of the Good Samaritan that had a significant impact on the development of Western nursing.  During the third and fourth centuries, several wealthy matrons of the Roman Empire, such as Fabiola, converted to Christianity and used their wealth to provide houses of care and healing for the poor, the sick, and the homeless. Women were not, however, the sole providers of nursing services.  The Crusades saw the formation of several orders of knights, including the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem also known as the Knights Hospitallers, and the Knights of Saint Lazarus (catholic military). These provided nursing care to their sick and injured comrades  In 1836, Theodore Fliedner reinstituted the Order of Deaconesses and opened a small hospital and training school in Kaiserswerth, Germany. Florence Nightingale received her "training" in nursing at the Kaiserswerth School.  Early religious values such as spiritual calling, and devotion to duty and hard work, have dominated nursing throughout its history. Nurses' commitment to these values often resulted in exploitation and few monetary rewards.  For some time, nurses themselves believed it was inappropriate to expect economic gain from their "calling."  War Throughout history, wars have accentuated the need for nurses. During the Crimean War (1854- 1856), the inadequacy of care given to soldiers led to a public outcry in Great Britain. Florence Nightingale was asked by Sir Sidney Herbert of the British War Department to recruit a contingent of female nurses to provide care to the sick and injured in the Crimea war.  Nightingale and her nurses transformed the military hospitals by setting up sanitation practices, such as hand washing and washing clothing regularly.  Nightingale is credited with performing miracles; the mortality rate in the Barrack Hospital in Turkey, for example, was reduced from 42% to 2% (Donahue, 1996, p. 197). During the American Civil War (1861-1865), several nurses emerged who were notable for their contributions to a country torn by internal strife.  On June 10, 1861, two months after the Civil War began, the Secretary of War appointed Dorothea Lynde Dix as Superintendent of Women Nurses for the Union Army. She became the Union's Superintendent of Female Nurses responsible for recruiting nurses and supervising the nursing care of all women nurses working in the army hospitals  Societal Attitudes Society's attitudes about nurses and nursing have significantly influenced professional nursing. Before the mid-1800s, nursing was without organization, education, or social status; the prevailing attitude was that a woman's place was in the home and that no respectable woman should have a career  Nurses in hospitals during this period were poorly educated; some were even incarcerated criminals. After Nightingale brought respectability to the nursing profession, nurses were viewed as noble, compassionate, moral, religious, dedicated, and self-sacrificing individuals.  During the past few decades, the nursing profession has taken steps to improve the image of the nurse.  In the early 1990s, the Tri-Council for nursing (the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, and the National League for Nursing) initiated a national effort (titled "Nurses of America") to improve the image of nursing  More recently, the Johnson & Johnson corporation contributed $20 million in 2002 to launch a "Campaign for Nursing's Future" to promote nursing as a positive career choice In addition, nursing schools and hospitals are targeting men in their recruitment efforts (Meyers, 2003).  Nursing Leaders Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Lillian Wald, Lavinia Dock, Margaret Sanger, and Mary Breckinridge are among the leaders who have made notable contributions to nursing's history.  Clara Barton (1812-1912) Clara Barton was a school teacher who volunteered as a nurse during the American Civil War. Her responsibility was to organize the nursing services.  Barton is noted for her role in establishing the American Red Cross to perform humanitarian efforts in time of peace.  Lillian Wald (1867-1940) Lillian Wald is considered the founder of public health nursing. Wald and Mary Brewster were the first to offer trained nursing services to the poor in the New York slums.  Lavinia L. Dock (1858-1956) was a feminist, prolific writer, political activist, , and friend of Wald. She participated in protest movements for women's rights that resulted in the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.  Regional In 1974, the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Nursing (ECSACON) was formed. It was inaugurated in 1990 in Malawi. The aim was to promote and sustain excellence in the nursing education, nursing practice, nursing education, nursing administration and nursing research.  It has 14 member countries; Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  National Before missionaries came to Zambia, the women folk nursed their sick relatives in their own homes using herbs and some roots Although some of these roots and herbs actually cured the sick, most of these herbs killed them due to over dosing because no written instructions about the use of these medications were available.  Disease was thought of being brought by evil spirits and supernatural powers. It was believed to be a punishment for wrong doing. Treatment was prescribed by witch doctors and other family members with use of herbs and ancestral worshipping  Educated Nursing (Modern Nursing) Nurse education in Zambia dates back to the 18th century with the arrival of missionaries. There were no hospitals so patients were treated in open ground or as outpatient under a tree.  Years later, missionaries started to build Hospitals to try and accommodate the very sick, and most of these were also covering long distances to seek health services.  One of the very first hospitals was Mbereshi Mission Hospital in 1900. This was the first hospital which showed interest in training female helpers.  In 1936, the first organized training for medical assistants was opened in Lusaka. Many medical assistants were trained who later converted to Registered Nurses at Lusaka School of Nursing.  In 1947, Salvation Army Hospital in Chikankanta started training female medical assistants In 1952 St Francis hospital in Katete opened a training school for medical assistants.  In 1951, Chikankata started training midwives. Mrs. Bridget Mphande Ngwisha was one of the prominent nurses trained at Chikankata. Other Enrolled Nursing programs opened by Missionaries were Chilonga (1962), Mwami (1962) and Chitambo.  Between 1963 and 1964 the government realized the need to start training schools for nurses in the country because the cost of sending girls to UK was too high.  On 12th September, 1964, the first 12 Zambian girls enrolled at Llewellyn Hospital or Kitwe Central Hospital 1969-Lusaka Mufulira (1969) and Ndola (1972). In 1950 Zambian Nurses Association (ZNA) was founded by the British nurse named Dora Norman.  In 1976 and 1977 post basic diploma in Nursing Education and post basic certificate in Public Health were introduced at the University of Zambia respectively. In 1981, post basic diploma in nursing was changed to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN).  REFERENCES 1. D. Patricia, (2010). History of Nursing. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. United States of America. Accessed on 13.02.2018 at 12:00 hours 2. American Nurses Association, 2001, Milton 2005 3. College of Nurses of Ontario, Practice stand: Therapeutic-Client Relationship, Revised 2006 4. Potter, P.A and Perry, A. G (2005) Fundamentals of Nursing, 6th Edition, Mosby, St Louis.