History of Nursing Occupations

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History of Nursing Occupations
Fozia Ferozali, RN., MSN
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Who were..

• the first
• nurses?

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• Throughout the middle ages, care was provided
  primarily by religious orders to sick and poor
• Some of the earliest nurses were nuns.
• Sisters of mercy order originated in 1830s by
  roman catholic church in Dublin (still exists
  today)

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During the Middle ages continued

• No specific training was required for someone to
  become a nurse
• Wealthy individuals received care at home by
  doctors

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Besides nuns, other early nurses included

• Women of ill repute
• Poor, single women with no family or hope of
  marriage
• Prisoners, servants and slaves

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Nursing prior to the late 1800s

• Required no specialized training
• Paid badly, if at all
• Was considered unrespectable
• Carried out under deplorable conditions
• Was NOT regarded as A profession
• Often did little to help patients recover

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Nursing as a profession

• Emerged in late 19th century
• Credit is given to Florence Nightingale

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Who was Florence Nightingale?

• She was born in 1820 and died in 1910
• Born in Italy to wealthy English parents
• Frustrated by lack of options for women of her
  social background
• Defied parents and society and traveled to
  Germany and throughout Europe to train as a nurse
• Her big opportunity came when the Crimean war
  broke out in 1854

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During Crimean War

• Secretary of War asked her to go take charge of
  the hospital at Scutari in Turkey.
• Nightingale showed up with 38 trained nurses and
  faced a death rate of 40
• She was met by patients lying on boards among
  piles of filth, patients received only one meal a
  day, no supplies, no sanitation, and hostility
  from army doctors

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Her accomplishments at Scutari in two years
included

• Death rate decreased to 2
• She established cleanliness and sanitation rules
• Patients received special diets and plenty of
  food
• Improved water supply
• Patients received proper nursing care
• Nightingale established a reputation which
  allowed her to improve nursing standards at home

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Florence Nightingale

• Nightingale established nursing school at St.
  Thomas Hospital, London upon return
• By 1887, Nightingale had her nurses working in
  six countries and U.S.
• Nightingale developed basic philosophy re the
  profession of nursing different from other
  existing programs
• Nightingale was a nurse, philosopher,
  statistician, historian, politician and more
• Today Nightingale is considered the founder of
  modern nursing

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Nightingales 7 basic tenets were that

• 1. The content of nursing education must be
  defined by nurses.
• 2. Nurse educators are responsible for the
  nursing care provided by students and graduates
  of the nursing program.
• 3. Educators should be trained nurses themselves.
• 4. Nursing schools should be separate entities,
  not connected with physicians or hospitals.

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Nightingales Basic tenets continued..

• 5. Nurses should be prepared with advanced
  education and should engage in continuing
  education throughout their careers.
• 6. Nursing involves both sick nursing and healthy
  nursing and includes the environment as well as
  the patient (holism).
• 7. Nursing must include theory.