Lillian Wald 's The Field Of Public Health Nursing

During the early nineteenth century, families of immigrants undergo assimilation to unite themselves in American customs. The ideology that they will be accepted into a society and embrace American identities has driven them to this process. A reality of upward mobility and freedom are highly desired for immigrants’ transition. One author who portrays the temptation of this “New World” America for the Jewish children arriving and having their lives greatly affected is Anzia Yezierska’s “Bread Givers” while focusing on the truth of forming an American identity. An autobiography written by Mary Antin “The Promised Land” incorporates the accuracy of family assimilation and its outcome on the identity of their children is shaped by American meritocracy

This issue was compounded by the fact that those who would advocate to change this perception, who were largely women in number, had practically no power politically or otherwise to do so. In spite of this, nurses of the time founded several organizations to help promote change and advance the status of nursing to a more respectable one. Organizations such as the ANA and

This organization was designed to secure the services of prominent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters relating to the health of the public. “The Institute acts to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education” (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010, p. 5) In October 2010, The IOM (Institute of Medicine) released the report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. This report examines the changing roles of nursing in healthcare, changes in nursing education and

Through interviewing my roommate Linda Wang, I have gotten the opportunity of hearing a first-hand account of what it is like being a young immigrant living in the United States. At the age of eight, Linda, along with her father, mother, and aunt, emigrated to America. Linda’s family currently resides in Bayside, Queens and she is a student-athlete on the St. John’s women’s golf team. Linda was kind enough to share her immigration story with me so that I may use it as a manifestation of what life as an immigrant, and the immigration process itself, entails.

A nationwide shortage of physicians in the mid-1960s gave way to the development of the nation’s first master’s degree curriculum in Nurse Practitioner at the University of Colorado’s School of Nursing in 1965 (Egenes & Burgess, 2001). The nurse practitioner movement was greatly influenced by the social movements of the 1960s and 70s, including the women’s and civil rights movements. By the 1970s, nurse practitioner preparation increased in graduate programs nationwide and the provision of primary care by nurse practitioners became widely accepted. Women of various racial and ethnic groups were finally allowed entry into nursing education programs after the Nurse Training Acts of 1975 and 1980. The physician shortages of the 1970s became a surplus in the 1980s, and Nurse Practitioners and APNs felt the need to increase scientific rigor to establish their continued value as PCPs (Frellick, 2011). In 1993, The American College of Nurse Practitioners was formed to further lobby and advocate for the needs of Nurse Practitioners (Egenes & Burgess, 2001).

Nurses work in situations that are driven by political decisions and are directed by healthcare policies which are political in nature (Des Jardin., nd). Political Activism in Nursing includes Policy, Politics and Power. However, health and nursing are political and nurses should advocate to be political activists (CNA, 2000). Nurses advocating on behalf of clients or allow them to take actions on their problems/ issues. Nurses participates in unions, and workplace committees to influence healthcare reform, workplace violence and collective bargaining. The Canadian Nurses Association is the national professional voice of Registered Nurses in Canada. Lillian Wald, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton are few of the many political

The works of Nancy Foner and other scholars inform readers that, during the 1880-1920 and 1965-present waves of immigration to New York City, new immigrant arrivals have assimilated into New York life through collective and divergent histories of ascribed stereotypes and achieved identities. Many so-called native New Yorkers, usually people of Northern European ancestry whose local roots have spanned several generations, have labeled newcomers mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa with a range of positive and negative stereotypes. Such ascribed stereotypes have both privileged and disadvantaged immigrant groups. Immigrants belonging to certain nationalities and ethnicities with cultural practices

When it comes to patient care, nurses play a critical role in the health care system that is simply just not replaceable. As Maya Angelou says, “they may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Nurses interact so closely with patients every day and spend the most time with them and their families. But nursing not only involves delivering care, it also involves patient advocacy. Demonstrating advocacy in nursing practice is necessary for providing effective care because it allows for development of a strong nurse-patient interpersonal relationship, which is needed to support the patient and promote healing. Nurses can demonstrate advocacy to help enhance this relationship by helping protect patient privacy, speaking

During her time as a visiting nurse, Wald became more aware of community needs for health care. It began as seeing a need for nurses in public schools, and turned into the first public health nursing system with assistance from the New York Board of Health (National Women’s Hall of Fame, 2011, para. 2). Wald then helped start the National Organization of Public Health, and was the first president (National Women’s Hall of Fame, 2011, para. 2). As a pioneer in public health nursing, Wald was able to “create models of public health and social service programs” (Henry Street Settlement, para. 2). She made great contributions to the nursing profession.

Throughout history, society has considered women to be the natural caregivers of children, family, and community. Women were naturally thought of as nurses because the act was said to be an extension of their role in the home. They were called in to homes to help deliver babies or as wet nurses to breastfeed. In the 1800’s, women began taking care of soldiers. It was then that Florence Nightingale cared for soldiers in the Crimean War. During this time she revolutionized the role by setting standards of cleanliness and reducing infection. The legacy of nursing continues to be enriched by those who continue to follow the example of nursing pioneers. They refuse to be bound by others’ views

The nurse today can be compared to a person who busies himself/herself with process of rescuing a situation to the extent that he/she finds no time to investigate the real cause of the problem. If a nurse could know the real cause of the problem, then he/she would be capable of eradicating it once and for all. This act of finding the real cause of the problem is what entails political activism and this is what should be running in the blood of every nurse.

The Henry Street House was opened in 1893 by Lilian Wald who established the phrase ‘public health nurse’, as discussed in the film “Nursing in America – A History of Social Reform”. She believed that bedside care should be provided to the public sick

Like any scientific discipline, the nursing profession has evolved over time. Nurses, once regarded as housemaids and lower class citizens, now hold positions of authority and stature in our modern society. These changes in the profession are attributed to the many nurse theorists who devoted their lives to the improvement of patient care. Through their theoretical advancements, the public perception of nursing has gone from dismissive to reverential. Today, our culture considers the nursing profession to be one of the most rewarding and respected career paths an individual can pursue. Through a review of one such patient theorist, Dorothea Orem, one can witness this change in the perception of the nursing profession. As a first semester student in a professional nursing course of study, Orem has already influenced my personal nursing philosophy.

The roles and functions of nurses have a very fascinating history and have evolved since the 19th century. Landale (1895), in her letter to the editor of the Nursing Record and Hospital World gave us a glimpse of what a nurse should be during that period. Referring to a nurse as a woman in uniform, it gave us an idea that nursing was a female dominated vocation and not to be treated as an economical occupation for financial gain. Landale (1895) placed an emphasis on the characteristic of being a servant and being devoted to service in order to be a nurse who was worthy of the uniform.

In life one has to take risks in order to bring forth a vision to life. Through risk taking, Faye G. Abdellah achieved her inner most dreams which was furthering the science of nursing research. Faye was a pioneer nursing researcher that helped transform nursing theory, nursing care and nursing education. In 1960, she was influenced by the desire to promote patient-centered comprehensive nursing care. Abdellah described nursing as a service to individuals, to families and therefore to the society. She was a rebel from the start in her efforts to promote nursing. Through time, she learned to disguise her rebellious leadership methods under the title “politically correct.” Even when faced with setbacks Faye continued to persevere and thrive for change (Houser & Player, 2004).