Thanks to Contemporary Nursing Essays

Envision for a moment what the responsibilities of a working nurse consist of each day. As you can imagine their days are filled with patient care, paperwork, doctor calls, and busy hospital activities. That was not always the case, nursing during the 1940’s was nothing like today. There was a lack of Organized nursing because institutions providing formal nursing education were unavailable. In fact most nurses at that time were stay at home moms. These women volunteered at local military hospitals. Virginia Benson 2013 stated, “At first nurses of both sides confined their duties to religious counsel, aiding in mortally wounded soldier to face a “good death”, and writing about that death to his family.” All of these new changes for women occur during

Burkhardt, M. & Nathaniel, A. (2008). Ethics & issues: In contemporary nursing, (3rd ed.) Clifton Park, NJ: Delmar

“Where there are men fighting, there are always nurses.” 2 Women worked on the front and at home during World War ll, unlike women nurses who were not in the fighting

These early nurses were quickly educated on the rigors of war and the primitive accommodations. Hundreds of women lasted little more than a month and for those that did last the work became gratifying and their Christian mission. At the bloodiest moments of the war, nurses braved heat of moment and offered selflessly to treat injured. These ladies

Before the war, few women were nurses. Being a nurse was a man’s job, but now that most men got called out to the war they were in need of nurses. Since women had the time to help, several volunteered themselves. Many men thought the job wouldn’t be appropriate for them. They didn’t want their delicate women to be subjected to the horrors of war, but as time went on they realized how strong they were, mentally and physically. Although a large amount of them were untrained to be nurses, they did an excellent job attending the soldiers. Some women demonstrated their leadership skills, like Dorothea Dix who stepped forward and became the Union Superintendent of Nurses. She recruited volunteer nurses that were over the age of 30 and were “plain looking women”. She recruited these women because she didn’t want people to think that the women were there for the men’s sexual desires. Since there had already been a big controversy were women were being called prostitutes for being nurses (Wayne). Other women took their housekeeping skills to the soldiers’ camps, cooking and doing their laundry. A few women worked as spies for their

Nurses were very key in the war especially in World War Two. The numbers and the role of the nurses during World War Two became more important than ever. At the beginning of the war there was a large shortage of nurses to help with less than seven thousand volunteering. More women began to join, but not just anyone could serve. The women had to meet certain standards. To serve a woman had to be a citizen of the U.S, a registered nurse, and between the ages of 21 and 40. She also had to be checkout by the military to make sure she was healthy enough. She also couldn’t have children that were under the age of 14. During other wars women didn’t have any training, but this changed when 1943 rolled around. From that point nurses had to go through training on sanitation, psychiatry, and even physical training to make sure they could survive the tough conditions. Nurses also had to put up medical facilities if they needed to. Women had to go through all of this training because, they began to work closer to the front lines than they had ever had to before. The nurses were so close to fighting that they had to be able to come up with solutions fast and make decisions that could save or take a life. Nurses also had to learn how to use guns in case the time arose that they needed them. During the war some of the nurses wanted to go farther than just being a field nurse, so they would go to extra training to become flight nurses. Because nurses were so close to the front lines, and they had extra training, they were better able to serve their country and their soldiers when they need help (“Nursing and Medicine During World War

Over 5000 volunteer nurses’ north and south served in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses were of all sorts and came from all over. Women wanted to be involved in this national struggle in any way they could. They did not want to stay home and play their traditional domestic roles that social convention and minimal career opportunities had confined the majority of their sex to. Many women thought of nursing as an extension of their home duties, almost like taking care of “their boys.” They recall the Civil War as a time when their work as nurses made a difference. It gave them an opportunity to prove they had the ability and courage to help.

During the Civil War, all of the nurses were expected to take on more responsibility. Due to the nurses lack of education that the nurses received, nurses would have to learn from their mistakes each day. Some of these mistakes were nurses giving the wrong medicine. Prior to the war, "Women’s experiences in nursing typically occurred in home settings, rather than in hospitals. Therefore, the nursing care provided was more intuitive than formal" (Egenes). Nursing was a lot more laid back during in the Civil War than it is now. Before the Civil War started, most patients got help from un trained nurses (“Nursing In America”). Each day "As the volunteer nurses learned from their experiences, they gradually embarked upon creative behaviors that were within the boundaries of established norms of medical practice of the time"(“Nursing in America”). This meant that almost

Nursing can be a demanding career, but the benefits far much outweigh the challenges. Most importantly, it’s the rewards it offers by allowing an opportunity to make a difference in another person’s life through the provision of care when they need it. Just as Patricia Benner theorized in her book “Novice to Expert,” nursing encompasses both educational knowledge and extensive clinical experience acquired throughout one’s career. This far, I continue to acquire knowledge and clinical knowhow which will promote proper and efficient care to patients. Since I began practicing one year ago in a long-term healthcare facility, I have interacted with patients, families, physicians and other members of the healthcare team to coordinate patient’s care which has enabled me to gain confidence in myself. While I cannot deny that it was difficult to transition from a student to a licensed nurse, I learnt to overcome these challenges and focus on my strengths. Practicing as an LPN has provided a platform to learn and gain experience even though the duties and responsibilities are limited by the scope of practice.

The earliest nurses never attended nursing school; they were often nuns or other women who provided care for the sick, poor, or homeless without family support (The history of Nursing, 2017). During the 18th and 19th centuries, the nursing profession expanded to include care of soldiers during many prominent wars (The History of Nursing, 2017). Florence Nightingale was a nurse during the Crimean War. The conditions she found soldiers in were deplorable. At this time she found that keeping these soldiers clean would lead to healing. She also began tending to them at all hours of the day. Upon her return to England, she wrote a report on her findings that helped reform health care. Years later, she started the Nightingale School for Nurses. After this several nursing schools began in the United States and were all founded on Nightingale’s ideas. The Civil War gave enormous impetus to the building of hospitals and to the development of nursing as a credentialed profession (Weathorford, 2010). One of the pioneers during this time was Clara Barton. By serving during the war she understood the need for clothing, food and shelter. She developed The Red Cross to be a program to aid those affected by

One aspect of nursing that has changed since the early 1800’s is nursing education. There was no question about the credibility of the women providing care to soldiers after the war. For many years untrained nurses and consequently nursing students cared the sick without any supervision. In 1873, the need for educated nurses was sought but was opposed by untrained physicians who thought trained nurses would pose a threat to their jobs (Gary & Hott, 1988). “Nurses have evolved

It is generally assumed that Florence Nightingale is the mother of modern nursing. She rebelled against cultural norms at the time, and chose to live out her dream and become a nurse, in times where nursing was a career that was frowned upon during her lifetime 1820-1910 (Dominiczak, 2014, p. 284). Nightingale’s crowning moment came during the Crimean War in Turkey, where she was head nurse of the injured soldiers nursing unit (Lippincott & Wilkins, 1940, p. 573). It was here that Nightingale found that medical staff at the Selimiye Barracks were not only overworked but their patients were suffering due to the poor level of medical care. Not only was there a diminutive supply of medicine so infections were very common, but because there was poor sanitation and ventilation, the barracks suffered a tremendous hygiene problem. Nightingale’s intuition that soldiers were dying due to poor hygiene proved to be correct; more soldiers were dying from secondary infections than they were from battle wounds. When Nightingale made a request of her government to deliver a solution to the fatal environment, the British government commissioned for a pre-assembled building, designed as a hospital, to save the lives of their soldiers. This pre-built hospital resulted in a reduced death rate of 2% from the original rate of 42% (Dominiczak, 2014, p. 284). In addition to this life-saving change, Nightingale also instigated practices such as

After 1917, when women were allowed to join the military, the most popular job was nursing. 33,000 women served as nurses during the last two years of World War One, for the first time women were officially considered apart of America’s military (Time Line: Women in the U.S. Military). The more years that passed with women involved in the military, the more respect they gained in the

Health and healing was an integral part of faith communities connecting all the way back to Biblical times. New Testament Deaconess Phoebe is noted for opening her home to the sick and needy in Romans 16. Pioneering in parish nursing is deeply rooted in the practice of the renowned Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who advocated that healthcare must be holistic and practical. Florence Nightingale belief that God is the Creator of all things and that God and nature causes healing is what steered her crusade. (1) Throughout her work she is notable due to her compassion to the poor and diligence to patient care. (3) She is famous for her contribution during the Crimean War in 1854. With medical conditions deplorable and hygiene being neglected deadly inflection were rampant. Nightingale along with 38 volunteer nurses cleaned the hospital and reorganized patient care reducing wounded mortality rates from forty percent to two percent. (3)

Under the guide of Linda Richard in 1876 to graduating, to becoming a co-founder of a nursing university in 1892, to army-nurse, saving hundreds from a disease in the Spanish-American war of 1898, and finally becoming a caring leader creating an environment for new nurses, and teaching fellow nurses the appropriate way to care for their patients. Anna Maxwell has gone through various challenges in the span of her early nursing career. Becoming a strong historical figure in the late nineteen hundreds, but still having the gentleness of a nurse to care for her patients.