Question

Through understanding the history and influences on the profession over time, it allows us to understand various components of the current role. Discuss two past influences on the profession which still impact on the profession today?

Answer 1

Knowledge of the history of our nursing profession increases us to understand the social and intellectual orgin of the discipline

Contributions of Nightingale to the nursing profession

Nursing has responded and always will respond to the needs of its patients. During the time of Crimean war, Florence Nightingale has studied and implemented methods to improve battle field sanitation which consequently reduced infection and ultimatley reduced illness and mortality rates. This has a higher impact on today's nursing. During times of war,the nursing response was to meet the needs of the wounded in combat zones and military hospital in the United States and the abroad

Nightingale had set the stage for evudence based practices. Through evidence based practice approach, today nurses take an active role in determining the best practices for skin care management, pain control, nutritional management,and made contributions in the field of geriatric nursing

Nightingale was the first practicing epidemiologist. Her statistical anlyses found out the reasons for cholera and dysentry. The sanitary, nutrition and basic facilities at battle field hospitals at the time of Crimean war was were poor at best. Subsequently , she was given the task to organize to improve the quality of basic sanitation facilites. Consequently, there was a sudden drop of mortality rates from 42.5% to 2.2% within 6 months. Today, when communities face health crisis situations like infecious diseases outbreak, they conduct community based immunization and screening programs, treatment clinics, health promotion activities