![]() In 1798 Valentine Seaman, a New York physician, organized an early course of lectures for nurses who cared for maternity patients. But, in other institutions, nursing care was more variable, ranging from good in some hospitals, to haphazard and poor in others.Ĭlick on the image to read a pdf of the full text.Recognizing the importance of good nursing care to a patient’s well-being, some physicians initiated courses for those interested in nursing. In hospitals operated by religious nursing orders, patients received high quality care. Nursing care in these institutions differed enormously. Early nineteenth-century hospitals were built mainly in more populated sections of the country, generally in large cities. Hospitals began to proliferate to serve those who were without the resources to provide their own care, and as hospitals increased in numbers so did the demand for caregivers who would be able to deliver thoughtful care to the patients in them. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, urbanization and industrialization changed the way in which-and in many cases the place in which-sick individuals received care. Sick care delivered by other than family and close acquaintances was generally limited to epidemics and plagues that periodically swept through towns and cities. In the United States, family-centered sickness care remained traditional until the nineteenth century. The Philadelphia Almshouse, 1835Throughout history most sick care took place in the home and was the responsibility of family, friends, and neighbors with knowledge of healing practices. Nursing and Hospital Care in the United States These schools were organized around a specific set of ideas about how nurses should be educated, developed by Nightingale often referred to as the “Nightingale Principles.” Actually, while Nightingale’s work was ground-breaking in that she confirmed that a corps of educated women, informed about health and the ways to promote it, could improve the care of patients based on a set of particular principles, she was the not the first to put these principles into action. Upon her return to England, Nightingale successfully established nurse education programs in a number of British hospitals. Today, schools of nursing compete for the brightest applicants, and nursing is highly regarded as an excellent career choice for both women and men.įlorence NightingaleMost people think of the nursing profession as beginning with the work of Florence Nightingale, an upper class British woman who captured the public imagination when she led a group of female nurses to the Crimea in October of 1854 to deliver nursing service to British soldiers. And each day, in operating rooms across the country, nurse anesthetists insure that patients undergoing surgery receive safe anesthesia care. Expectant mothers often prefer nurse midwives as their health care providers during pregnancy and childbirth. Many people visit a nurse practitioner as their primary caregiver. Workers with job-related health concerns often seek out nurses employed by business and industry. Nurses play a major role in delivering care to those residing in long-term-care facilities such as nursing homes. School nurses have a long history of providing health services to school children from kindergarten through high school. For example, most Americans are familiar with home care nurses who provide a plethora of nursing and health care services to patients in their homes. Nurses are critical links in maintaining a cutting-edge health care system.Nursing continues to be an indispensable service to the American public.Ģ1st century nurses preparing to care for a patient in a modern acute care hospital.While many may think of a nurse as someone who takes care of hospitalized patients, nurses also fill a wide variety of positions in health care in many varied settings, working both collaboratively and independently with other health care professionals. Millions of Americans turn to nurses for delivery of primary health care services, health care education. Working independently and with other health care professionals, nurses promote the health of individuals, families, and communities. While most nurses work in acute-care settings such as hospitals, nurses’ expertise and skills extend well beyond hospital walls. As members of the largest health care profession, the nation’s 3.1 million nurses work in diverse settings and fields and are frontline providers of health care services. Professional nursing holds a unique place in the American health care system.
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