Nancy Rios
NRS 403v
Module 2 DQ 1

Knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing promotes an understanding of how nursing has, and will continue to, evolve over time. By researching its foundation and history, one sees how professional nursing has continued to demonstrate it’s ever-broadening scope of practice, thus demanding practicing nurses to achieve higher levels of education and pursue continued education. With higher levels of education and continued education, nurses’ perspectives also broaden, provoking a significant change in their ownership of their profession. It seems to provoke a more vested interest in the growth and development of professional nursing as a whole. At least that’s the change that I witness happening within myself.

There are many trends demonstrated by the interactive timeline. The ones that I find most interesting are research and technology, education and discrimination.

In the early years of nursing, technological growth occurred at a much slower pace than it occurs today. Technologic advancement brings about more in-depth research. With more research comes more knowledge of proper diagnosis and effective treatment. Today, rapid advancement in technology demands that nurses stay up to date with current diagnostic and treatment modalities. It has influenced my perspective of nursing in regards to realizing that I didn’t go to school to learn, “this is what I need to know to be a good nurse.” I learned that you never stop learning how to be a good nurse because nursing is constantly changing with the more knowledge we gain through research.

This constant learning and keeping up to date with current practices leads in to the trend that nursing is evolving into a profession that is requiring higher levels of education. With the growing complexity of our patients’ needs and our broadening scope of practice,