The Emergence of the Nursing Profession in America

Introduction

Describe what historical events contributed to the idea of hospitals and sick care in the United States at the beginning of the 19th century. Examine how the Nurse Society of Philadelphia aided at the beginning of nursing education.

During the early eighteenth century, America had limited medical care in such a way that it usually involved doctors visiting the patients in their homes, a situation that did not favour poor people. The idea to develop hospitals and sick care in America resulted from several historical events that took place in the early nineteenth century and late eighteenth century. One of these events was the Industrial Revolution, whereby the nation was growing at a rapid rate, becoming crowded and unsanitary, conditions that made these places prone to outbreaks of diseases (Corbett et al., 2023). These conditions increased the demand for hospitals to treat infectious diseases and manage public health crises. Another event that led to the development of hospitals is the work of Thomas Bond, who was a prominent American physician, surgeon, and educator from Philadelphia. Bond is popularly known for his significant role in the establishment of the first hospital in the United States, the Pennsylvania Hospital. Bond had trained in medicine in Europe, where there were established medical institutions, and upon his return and work in America, the lack of organized healthcare facilities led him to start lobbying for the establishment of such institutions. With the help of his friend Benjamin Franklin, Bond was able to secure enough financial backing, which enabled the Pennsylvania Assembly to pass a bill in 1751 that led to the founding of Pennsylvania Hospital (Corbett et al., 2023). This was the first hospital in the nation and was established in order to provide care to those ill with illnesses like yellow fever, smallpox, the mentally ill and the sick poor. Lastly, yet importantly, another significant event that led to the creation of the first board of health department was the first yellow fever epidemic that started in 1793 and ended in 1803.

The Nurse Society of Philadelphia was one of the most considerable contributors to nursing education in the early nineteenth century. For instance, the society took up training of nurses after identifying the need for caregivers who are trained so that they could assist physicians. There was a gap in healthcare, especially due to the poor populations who could not afford healthcare, and nurses helped fill this gap. Secondly, society was the pioneer of modern health care services by starting home-based nursing care models back in the nineteenth century, whereby they would send trained nurses into the homes of the patients. Lastly, yet importantly, the society was a pioneer in nursing education in that its training laid the foundation of formal nursing schools later on.

The American Civil War demanded that women enter the workforce as nurses. Examine how the Nightingale schools emerged in the late 1800s, what the nature of these schools was, and what their education emphasized.

After the war, the influence of Florence Nightingale in nursing took root in America, leading to the establishment of the Nightingale-style nursing school. The nature of these schools was such that they were affiliated with hospitals, which enabled students to have direct practice of their nursing skills with patients but under supervision (Backes, Toson, Ben, & Erdmann, 2020). Secondly, through rigorous training programs, the students would participate in structured programs that were combined with clinical practice. The schools also emphasized discipline, whereby students had to adhere to strict conduct guidelines, stay in dormitories, and be under the supervision of matrons. The education emphasis in these schools was on moral and ethical conduct in addition to the scientific aspects of nursing practice.

Assess how the nursing profession was organized and diversified by the early 20th century. What were some of the challenges in employment conditions nurses faced?

Several key developments led to the diversification and organization of the nursing profession in the late and early twentieth century. The first factor is the foundation of numerous organizations, for instance, the American Nurses Association, which supported nurses and provided platforms where nurses could advocate for themselves (Chiu, Cummings, Thorne, & Schick-Makaroff, 2021). Secondly, nurses also began to specialize in different fields, such as surgical nursing or pediatrics, among others, which helped broaden the scope of nursing care. Thirdly, there was the establishment of formal nursing schools which helped standardize nursing education, emphasizing both theory and practice.

          Nevertheless, even with this growth in the nursing profession, there were challenges that nurses faced, including gender and racial discrimination. Nursing was initially dominated by women as it was regarded as a woman’s job to take care of others, and, unfortunately, even though the discrimination has reduced, it still exists today (Cho & Jang, 2021). Therefore, men were not allowed in the field of nursing because they were not considered as nurturing as women. In addition, it was only a few years after racial discrimination had been outlawed, but systemic racism was still very much existent, and it kept African Americans from working as nurses. Lastly, nurses were overworked because hospitals had limited resources, and the labor conditions had not been set fairly.

Analyze how World War I revolutionized the nursing profession. What changes do you see post-war to modern nursing practices? Provide a couple of examples.

The impact that World War I had on the nursing profession was profound. For example, the extensive scale of the war meant that there would be large numbers of injured soldiers, and this then meant that more medical professionals would be needed. This created many opportunities for nurses to take up more roles and responsibilities. Secondly, nurses were integrated into the military during this time in organizations like the Red Cross. Lastly, the war brought new challenges, and this meant that nurses had to be innovative, leading to new inventions like mobile field hospitals.

Some of the modern nursing practices I see post-World War I include the foundation of organizations that, among other things, advocate for nurses. One example of such an organization is the American Nurses Association, National Student Nurses’ Association, and AACN American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, among others. Secondly, the role of a nurse was recognized and given importance; hence, more resources into training programs were made, leading to more growth in the profession. For example, nurses can now prescribe treatment and give diagnoses, roles which were done by doctors; in addition, nurses were also able to branch out into other fields like cardiac nursing, oncology nursing, and critical care nursing, among others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, healthcare and nursing have had dramatic evolution over the course of America’s history. Healthcare started off as a service that was usually done at home, and this limited it to rich people who could afford it, to an organized industry accessible to everyone. Nursing also started off as an informal caregiving role to a highly professional and specialized role in the healthcare industry. Notably, both fields had significant influence from Europe, with Bond’s experience from Europe leading to the foundation of the nation’s first hospital, and the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing in New York was closely modeled after Nightingale’s nursing school at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London.

References

Backes, D. S., Toson, M. J., Ben, L. W. D., & Erdmann, A. L. (2020). Contributions of Florence Nightingale as a social entrepreneur: From modern to contemporary nursing. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 73(suppl 5), e20200064. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2020-0064

Chiu, P., Cummings, G. G., Thorne, S., & Schick-Makaroff, K. (2021). Policy advocacy and nursing organizations: A scoping review. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 22(4), 276-296. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544211050611

Cho, S., & Jang, S. J. (2021). Do gender role stereotypes and Patriarchal Culture affect nursing students’ major satisfaction? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2607. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052607

Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T., Vickery, P., & Waskiewicz, S. (2023). U.S. History. OpenStax, OER Commons. https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

[Please delete all instructions once you have completed this case study. Length: 3-4 double-spaced pages. Use a minimum of one (1) documented example from your US History OpenStax course text and three (3) scholarly sources from the Chamberlain Library. Remember, sources for this case study are found under the Leganto Source List. Add in-text citations and end references, and double-space the writing once completed. The course text has already been added to the references, but please add your additional scholarly source to the list.]

Introduction

Describe what historical events contributed to the idea of hospitals and sick care in the United States at the beginning of the 19th century. Examine how the Nurse Society of Philadelphia aided at the beginning of nursing education.

The American Civil War demanded that women enter the workforce as nurses. Examine how the Nightingale schools emerged in the late 1800s, what the nature of these schools was, and what their education emphasized.

Assess how the nursing profession was organized and diversified by the early 20th century. What were some of the challenges in employment conditions nurses faced?

Analyze how World War I revolutionized the nursing profession. What changes do you see post-war to modern nursing practices? Provide a couple of examples.

The Emergence of the Nursing Profession in America

Conclusion

References

[at least one other authoritative source in alphabetical order in the list and double-check APA document formatting]

Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T., Vickery, P., & Waskiewicz, S. (2023, July 6). U.S. History. OpenStax, OER Commons. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history