N1 exam 1 reviewer

DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING FROM EARLY CIVILIZATIONS TO THE 16TH CENTURY ­ Most early civilizations believed that illness had supernatural causes. ­ The theory of animism attempted to explain the cause of mysterious changes in bodily functions. ­ This theory was based on the belief that everything in nature was alive with invisible forces and endowed with power. ­ The health care provider was the medicine man who treated disease by chanting, inspiring fear, or opening the skull to release evil spirits ­ The nurse usually was the mother who cared for her family during sickness by providing physical care and herbal remedies. ­ In the early Christian period, the idea that love and caring for others were important, women called “deaconesses” made the first organized visits to sick people, and members of male religious orders gave nursing care and buried the dead. ­ Both male and female nursing orders were founded during the Crusades (11th to 13th centuries). Hospitals were built for the enormous number of pilgrims needing health care, and nursing became a respected vocation. ­ At the beginning of the 16th century, many Western societies shifted from a religious orientation to an emphasis on warfare, exploration, and expansion of knowledge. women who were convicted of crimes were recruited into nursing in lieu of serving jail sentences. In addition to having a poor reputation, these nurses received low pay and worked long hours in unfavorable conditions. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AND THE BIRTH OF MODERN NURSING ­ From the middle of the 19th century to the 20th century, social reforms changed the roles of nurses and of women in general. ­ The outbreak of the Crimean War and a request by the British to organize nursing care for a military hospital in Turkey gave Nightingale an opportunity for achievement ­ Nightingale challenged prejudices against women and elevated the status of all nurses. ­ she established the first training school for nurses and wrote books about health care and nursing education. Florence Nightingale’s contributions include:  Identifying the personal needs of the patient and the role of the nurse in meeting those needs  Establishing standards for hospital management  Establishing a respected occupation for women  Establishing nursing education  Recognizing the two components of nursing: health and illness  Believing that nursing is separate and distinct from medicine  Recognizing that nutrition is important to health  Instituting occupational and recreational therapy for sick people  Stressing the need for continuing education for nurses  Maintaining accurate records, recognized as the beginnings of nursing research