Another major change was the nature of the staff that ran hospitals. Often, these hospitals were still paid for by subscriptions of the wealthier members of society, yet how the money was being spent began to change. There were less volunteer and religious undertones as more and more specialization became a key evolution in the hospital's history. Thus, hospitals in this period saw the implementation of a highly skilled and trained nursing staff. This more specialized and trained staff could go much further beyond the capabilities of the predominately religious-based volunteer nurses of the past hospitals. There was a specialization of doctors and nurses who worked within very specific fields.
Hospitals became the "main provider of specialized care"
and essentially a precursor to the concept of specialized care. In this new hospital setting, specialized staff could focus on providing expert skill in therapies directed specifically for certain conditions or injuries. This then essentially specialized the nature of therapeutic care in general. Newer hospitals at the time came to be the "focus of expertise and high-tech equipment" and eventually were highlighted as the "pinnacle of medical achievement."
All the latest research and treatments were conducted within the hospital setting, as the trained physicians and nurses became more and more of a part of health care strategies within the context of the hospital setting.
However, this did have a some what negative influence on the nature of care within these facilities at the time. Hospitals going through these evolutions "sought therapeutic power and confidence by reducing their scope of vision toward more precise targets of intervention and measures of success, sometimes losing sight in the process of the broader significance of therapy within the lives of patients and populations."
Essentially, there was a movement away from a holistic view of medical treatment. In the 19th century, doctors...
The idea of treating the body holistically became associated with the less formal treatment of the past, and thus its benefits were lost in the hospitals of the time period.
There have recently been movements back towards more holistic perspectives of providing medicine. It is clear to modern medicine that specialized care must include a balance of targeted and holistic strategies. Holistic therapeutic practices focus on helping prevention, but also helps ensure the success of more long-term care strategies.
References
Greene, Jeremy a., "Therapeutic Evolution and the Challenge of Rational Medicine." The New England Journal of Medicine, 367(2012), 1077-1082.
Marland, Hilary, "The Changing Role of the Hospital, 1800-1900." Medicine Transformed, Health, Disease and Society in Europe 1800-1930 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004), pp. 31-60.
"New Hospital," PowerPoint Slides. (2012).
Marland, Hilary, "The Changing Role of the Hospital, 1800-1900." Medicine Transformed, Health, Disease and Society in Europe 1800-1930 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004), p 32.
Marland, p 32.
Marland, p. 34.
"New Hospital," PowerPoint Slides. (2012).
Marland, p. 34.
Marland, p. 35.
"New Hospital" p 9
"New Hospital" P. 15
"New Hospital" P. 15
Greene, Jeremy a., "Therapeutic Evolution and the Challenge of Rational Medicine." The New England Journal of Medicine, 367(2012), p 1077.
Greene, P 1078
Green, P 1078
