Nursing History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing History - Essay Example The question arises whether the public have gone past the traditional image of nursing which projected nurses as unintelligent, passive and highly dependant hand-maidens (Kaler, Levy and Schall, 1989) In 1868, a Nightingale protà ©gà © called Lucy Osburn, made a significant beginning in Nursing reform. It was during this time that great advancement was made in medical science and technology such as discovery of anesthetics and disease pathophysiology. As a result of all this medical authorities demanded better improvements in nursing in order to facilitate improved patient outcomes and survival rates. (Keneley, 1988). Lucy Osburn, who was made Superintendent of the Sydney infirmary, made a significant achievement of how the public viewed nurses and their work, just by her remarkable positive influence. Lucy Osburn also introduced the wearing of uniforms and adherence to strict codes of hygiene. She also set the initial foundation for formal nurses training, incorporating formal lectures and teaching sessions into the daily hospital routine (Brodsky, 1968) The image of Nursing began to move towards a very positive direction (Forsyth, 1994) since formal training was introduced and it began to be looked upon as an admirable vocation and soon picked up momentum among all classes of women. It is one of histories greatest paradoxes of the 20th century, for even though it had poor and extremely harsh working conditions, it still remained to be the most sought after and popular female occupations. Life was tough for nurses during the 1950’s – 1960’s. Strong emphasis was laid on personal attitudes which contributed to being an â€Å"ideal nurse† like selflessness, obedience, kindness, devotion and dignity (Bridges, 1990). The trainees were required to live in hospital accommodation in order to instill morals, good manners and behavior which were