...How does knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing provide a context in which to understand current practice? Identify at least three trends in nursing practice from the "Nursing Timeline of Historical Events" media piece. How have these trends influenced your perspective of nursing practice? To understand the current practice of nursing, we must go back to its origin, and look at how it has evolved. We need to understand the “why’s and the how come’s “ behind this practice, in order to learn from the past shortcomings, in order to provide optimum care for the patients we are entrusted with, and influence our future in this profession. The three trends that have influenced my perspective of nursing practice, as outlined in the “Nursing Timeline of Historical Events”, are the switch from the beginning of civilization and nursing care delivered by men, usually with religious affiliation to a female dominate field, the evolution of this profession being seen as work unworthy of respect and financial compensation to now being a highly sought after and respected profession, and the advancement of education and professional organizations. To understand Nursing’s current practice, one must understand its history. Nursing has been called an art. One must have a passion for it. To be a nurse, one should be compassionate, patient, and possess a strong desire to give to those in need. Since the beginning of history, nurses have been caring for the wounded, sick, desolate...
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...Knowledge of the foundation and history of nursing provides a context in which to understand current practice by providing insight into the challenges faced in the past, the obstacles overcome and an understanding of the progression of the profession. By learning about the history of nursing and the people who pioneered our profession, nurses can increase their capacity to make positive changes in the present and set goals for the future. The most important nursing trend consistent throughout the "Nursing Timeline of Historical Events" was increased and formalized education. Nurses transitioned from uneducated, low class individuals providing basic rudimentary care to highly respected professionals providing skilled, technologically advanced care with care and compassion. Dorthea Dix began another important trend by gathering facts and information about the conditions of health care and bringing these facts to the attention of the government. She wanted state supported institutions and the improvement of care. Her efforts led to the first state run hospital and also recognition to the role of women in health care. The trend set by Florence Nightengale to gather data and use statistics to analyze disease and mortality laid the foundation for Evidence Based Practice to improve patient outcomes. These trends have influenced my perspective of nursing in many ways. I am pursuing my BSN because research has shown that Baccalaureate prepared...
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...How does knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing provide a context in which to understand current practice? Identify at least three trends in nursing practice demonstrated by the interactive timeline. How have these trends influenced your perspective of nursing practice? In answering the above question, my thought immediate goes to, “You don’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been or come from.” “The American Association for the History of Nursing (AAHN) is a professional organization open to everyone interested in the history of nursing. The purpose of the Association shall be to foster the importance of history as relevant to understanding the past, defining the present, and influencing the future of nursing.” [ (About AAHN, 2007) ] The history of nursing and knowledge of foundations allows us an opportunity to ask why & then obtain answer(s) for current practices via documented evidence. This knowledge propels an individual from a level of ignorance to a focused level of education. Awareness of historical practices and events better assists us in understanding the why’s within this profession, we call registered nurse. Three trends within nursing practice that stood out in my mind were: 1.) The movement from male dominated, religious caregivers to females who at one time weren’t considered persons. Now women are recognized as human entities with value that dominate the nursing field, in all aspects. 2.) The trend from rudimentary...
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...history and foundations of nursing helps me understand better about my profession of nursing. I understand how the nursing job was started and evolved over time and see where I am from the historical standpoint. The study of history focuses on not just the chronology of events, but also the impact and influence on a society and the nursing profession by those events throughout ages. It helps us better understand the societal forces and issues confronting the nursing profession continuously and also allows us better appreciate the role of the profession in the healthcare system (Egenes, 2009). By studying the history and fundamentals of nursing, I have learned that my work is in continuation of many people’s hard work and dedication and am able to identify the trends in the nursing profession. The first notable and interesting trend in nursing over the course of history is that the nursing profession was mainly held by men prior to 1800s even though the majority of nurses in the United State predominantly women these days. In the earlier era, I don’t think we can even call the nursing job as a profession because those men were mainly fulfilling the calling to aid the sick and poor from military, lay and religious orders. One interesting fact is that the first nursing school was established in India in about 250 B.C., and only men were permitted to attend because men were viewed to be more pure than women (Travel Nurses Now, 2014). The role of women in the nursing field started...
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...How does knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing provide a context in which to understand current practice? Identify at least three trends in nursing practice from the "Nursing Timeline of Historical Events" media piece. How have these trends influenced your perspective of nursing practice? Paraphrasing the great philosopher Santayana, we can say that those who dare to ignore the lessons of history condemn themself to go throw the same growing pains past generations had to go, unnecessarily. Modern nursing practice is based on scientific knowedge, technological accomplishments that have allowed the development of a data base of wisdom, knowledge, information and data about individuals and populations who suffer illness and sickness. Also, knowing that men and women of courage, determination and intelligence and observation skills paid a painful price to arrive to the knowledge base that we have now at our disposition, and had to fight many battles in the different communities and nations to advance the idea that the provision of a rational, compassionate and professional medical and nursing care oblige us to be grateful to they and to commit ourselves to continue practicing modern nursing without taking it for granted. One lesson contemporary medicine and nursing that shows a tendency to incorporate state of the art technologies and procedures to the nursing/medical care, may learn from this empirical stage of the nursing history is that we need to keep the compassionate...
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...Having the knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing provides a context in which nurses understand current practice because it helps us understand how nursing even came to be. Realizing all the struggles, problems and challenges many significant people such as St Benedict to Florence Nightingale to Mildred Montag faced helps provide an understanding in how they contributed in shaping nursing as a Profession today. As early as 250 BC, St. Benedict initiated the Benedictine Nursing Order. With this initiated the beginning of nursing education which set the basis of importance of knowledge. Then there is Dorothea Lynde Dix who in the early nineteenth century witnessed how many the mentally ill and orphans lived in such shocking living conditions. Because of all her efforts in convincing those of authority the need for better care and facilities in which the ill are cared for resulted in the first hospital being built in Trenton, New Jersey. Then of course the infamous Florence Nightingale, the founding mother of modern nursing. Her work further assisted in improving the many things that others fought for such as education, improving the sanitary conditions of where people are treated. Her research and writing instated the importance of understanding disease and its relation to morality rates. These trends have helped influence my perspective of nursing practice in that it gives me the understanding of how important nursing education is and that there is always...
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...Knowledge of the foundation and history of nursing provides a context in which to understand current practice by providing insight into the challenges faced in the past, the obstacles overcome and an understanding of the progression of the profession. If unknown, history tends to repeat itself. Learning from past mistakes and successes, such as Florence Nightingale’s revolutionary work on improving sanitary conditions, we are able to use the knowledge to further improve the profession of nursing. The understanding of current practices is directly related to the understanding and advancement of past practices. Based on the Nursing Timeline of Historical Events (n.a, n.d), the first trend that has influence my perception of nursing is the progression of a male dominated, religious calling to a women dominated profession with or without religious affiliations. While the act of nursing seems to have always been a calling to heal the sick and wounded, today it is not necessarily a religious calling but more of a calling of healing and compassion towards those in need , although many hospitals and foundations have religious roots . I believe the trend toward the women dominated profession is also shifting slightly as more males are seeking admittance into the profession. Nursing is now becoming a bi-gender profession as it is overcoming the past prejudices of society. A second important trend from this timeline is of nurses transitioning from that of uneducated, low class individuals...
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...Module 2 DQ 1 How does knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing provide a context in which to understand current practice? Identify at least three trends in nursing practice demonstrated by the interactive timeline. How have these trends influenced your perspective of nursing practice? Having knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing helps one to understand how nursing evolved and developed as a profession throughout the centuries. Basic knowledge about the history of nursing is necessary to understand what nursing is today. The study of nursing history helps the nurse better to understand the issues of autonomy (being self directed), unity within the profession, supply and demand, salary, and current practice. Learning from the role models of history, nurses can increase their capacity to make positive changes in the present and set goals for the future. The major reason for studying history is to learn from the past. By applying lessons learned from history, nurses will continue to be vital force in the health care syste (White, 2005 p.41). One of the trends in the nursing practice demonstrated by interactive timeline is the decision making process. Nurses make decisions every day that affects the health of the individual, family and community they serve. They continually reinvent themselves and their practice at the expense of their history. In 1939, nurse historian Mary Roberts wrote that “trends and events of today are the results of past...
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...Without an understanding of basic nursing there is no room for improvement. “By understanding the history and foundation of nursing nurses can develop a sense of professional identity and build a better future for the profession and the people they serve” (lc.gcumedia.com, 2013). We also have a better appreciation for the nursing profession and what it has evolved into today. Three trends that were demonstrated by the interactive timeline were: 1. Nursing was for the undesirables. “Ill individuals were taken care of by “sinners, saints, or mothers” “(lc.gcumedia.com, 2013). Florence Nightingale was born in a wealthy English family and had educational opportunities; however she would still often find herself wanting to help the poor. Soon after completion of nursing school she travelled to the Crimea War. There she suggested there were “five essential components to an optimal healing environment; pure air, pure water, efficient drainage, cleanliness and light” (Kelly, 2012, p. 2397). With those changes alone the mortality rate decreased and the meaning of nursing was forever changed into what we know today. 2. Nursing was predominately for males. Like every profession in the past, men would work while women stayed at home. During war men would act like nurses by treating injured soldiers and attempting to save others lives. Florence Nightingale once again changed nursing from the past to what we know today by walking on the battle fields rendering aid to those who were...
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...How does knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing provide a context in which to understand current practice? Identify at least three trends in nursing practice demonstrated by the interactive timeline. How have these trends influenced your perspective of nursing practice? To understand the current practice of nursing, one must understand its history. Nursing is an art. One must have a passion for it. To be a nurse, one has to be compassionate, patient and the wiliness to give. Since the beginning of history, nurses have been caring for the wounded, sick, desolate, abandoned, and the poor. From Shiphrah and Puah to Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, to the modern day nurse, nursing has evolved into what it is today; a professional institution. No it wasn’t easy getting there, because early on, nursing was not a glamorous profession, but through dedication and the love for humanity, nursing has become a respectfully profession. During their time, these women as well as others established formal nursing programs, conducted forensic studies and were advocates for clean and sanitary conditions for their patients. As the nursing field began to grow and develop, nursing schools were founded; professional nursing organization and public health programs were organized. From these trends came hospital based training schools, nursing licensure, and public health nursing became vital in the community. When I was growing up, the community health nurse was...
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...Knowledge of the foundations and history of nursing helps to provide nurses with an understanding of how nursing became established, how current practices were put into place and became effective, and enables you to see the significant changes that were taking place to make nursing into a profession. According to the “Nursing Timeline of Historical Events,” it was interesting to find out that nursing started being performed by people who were considered to be uneducated, unaccepted, and lower class. In comparing nursing to to now, it has become a profession that requires a lot to become licensed to practice. It has a very intense curriculum, skills training, and requires testing in order to become licensed to practice. There have been so many changes within the nursing profession and continue to change daily. Some of the changes on the “Nursing Timeline of Historical Events” and current practices today include changes in education, uniforms, and technology. As far as education, nursing was once completed by people who were uneducated and now the requirement is to receive minimum an associate degree and pass a licensure exam. Nurses are also held responsible to practice with certain standards of care. The uniforms have also changed. On the timeline, you notice that nurses had on dresses, mostly all white, and they also wore hat covering their hair. In today’s profession, nurses where all colors, no hats, and also majority of female nurses wear pants. Technologies within...
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...Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive and irreversible brain disease that destroys mental and physical functioning in human beings, and invariably leads to death. It is the fourth leading cause of adult death in the United States. Alzheimer's creates emotional and financial catastrophe for many American families every year, but fortunately, a large amount of progress is being made to combat Alzheimer's disease every year. To fully be able to comprehend and combat Alzheimer's disease, one must know what it does to the brain, the part of the human body it most greatly affects. Many Alzheimer's disease sufferers had their brains examined. A large number of differences were present when comparing the normal brain to the Alzheimer's brain. There was a loss of nerve cells from the Cerebral Cortex in the Alzheimer's victim. Approximately ten percent of the neurons in this region were lost. But a ten percent loss is relatively minor, and cannot account for the severe impairment suffered by Alzheimer's victims. Neurofibrillary Tangles are also found in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. They are found within the cell bodies of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, and take on the structure of a paired helix. Other diseases that have "paired helixes" include Parkinson's disease, Down's Syndrome, and Dementia Pugilistica. Scientists are not sure how the paired helixes are related in these very different diseases. Neuritic Plaques are patches of clumped material lying...
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...This discussion topic made me think of a quote,” Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” by George Santayana. Having a knowledge of the history of nursing is essential in order for the profession to progress. Nurses have to know their history in order to learn and establish better health care practices which foster better patient outcomes. “Past events, still exert a profound influence on current nursing practice, particularly in relation to image, education, advancement in practice, workforce issues, licensure/regulation, and research.”(Judd,Davis & Sitzman, 2009) The first trend that stood out to me was the movement to racially diversify nursing. Mary Mahoney helped pioneer the way for minority racial groups in nursing. Now, the nursing profession is more diversified and have associations, such as the ANA, established to assist in eliminating discrimination in the profession. Although nursing has made great strides to diversify the profession, there is still an under-representation among racial and ethnic minorities, men and people with disabilities. “Just over one-third of the U.S. population self-reported as being a minority in the 2010 census. But according to findings from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, ethnic and racial minorities constituted just 16.8% of the nursing workforce. Although those of Asian background were slightly over represented, blacks, Latinos, and American Indians and Alaska natives were significantly...
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...Knowing these foundations of the history of nursing has refreshed my mind on current practices. Nursing has come a long way and has evolved from a trade to a profession requiring education. Nursing now has a broader meaning such that nurses take care of the whole human being no matter what specialty one is in. A Urologist having a patient with cardiac problems will consult a cardiologist, whilst a nurse will take care of this urology patient with heart attack, AMS, family issues and what have you. Describing a nurse in a few words is to say: Nursing is a “unique profession in that it is concerned with all the variables affecting the individual’s response to stress” (Neuman,1982, p.14). Based on the history of Nursing it is a building block for trusting relationships, and current practices emphasize on strong trustworthy relationships. Education and training for nurses provides qualified skillful professionals who have the ability to provide the appropriate services required of a nurse. Although technology is modifying and improving how nursing is being carried out, it cannot change the responsibilities of nurse as described in the history: The art of nursing is ability to form trusting, perform procedures skillfully, prescribe appropriate treatments and morally conduct nursing practice(Johnson,1994). There seem to be no fixed theory when you read all the theories dealt with in the nursing foundations and history, as they all make similar references to nursing in meaning...
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...A nursing theory is a structured framework of concepts and purposes intended to guide the nursing practice. Nursing theories are important in nursing practice as they allow the nurses to use their critical thinking and analytical skills to improve concept comprehension. The use of nursing theories in the practice can bring new knowledge and can influence the future nursing practice. Nursing theories developed to describe the nursing care, guide the nursing practice and provide a foundation for clinical decision making. The foundation of the nursing theory was placed by Florence Nightingale. The first nursing theory established in the late 1800s when there was a strong emphasis on the nursing education took place. There are several nursing...
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