Timeline of Nursing

¶ … Nursing Science Florence Nightingale (d.1910), founder of modern nursing is born. Florence Nightingale is widely credited for developing what has been called an 'environmental' theory of nursing. When Nightingale began to practice her craft during the Crimean War, there were no professional protocols for how nurses should behave, nor was nursing a standardized profession. Nightingale suggested the need for cleanliness and well-ventilated areas to facilitate the healing of patients. She also stressed the need for psychological relief from the distress of illness for the sick.

"Patients are to be put in the best condition for nature to act on them, it is the responsibility of nurses to reduce noise, to relieve patients' anxieties, and to help them sleep" ("Theory of Florence Nightingale," 2014). 1860: Nightingale establishes the first nursing school in London 1873: First nursing school founded in the United States 1882: Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross, charter for the Red Cross is ratified Clara Barton was extremely influential during the Civil War in bringing professional nursing standards to the United States.

One of the reasons the Civil War had such a devastating level of causalities were the illnesses that resulted from men's wounds and the poor level of service. Barton refused to be confined by conventional ideas of how a lady should behave. "Barton was never satisfied with remaining with medical units at the rear of the column -- hours or even days away from a fight.

At Antietam, she ordered the drivers of her supply wagons to follow the cannon and traveled all night, actually pulling ahead of military medical units" ("Clara Barton," 2014). Barton strove to overcome barriers to high-quality care and later used her energy to found the organization which would play a vital role in relieving the suffering of people around the world as well as in the United States. 1897: Virginia Henderson born Virginia Henderson was one of the most influential early theorists of the nursing profession.

Henderson defined the 14 essential needs of human beings. She treated nursing like a medical science, contrary to the concept of nurses as doctor's helpers so common in her day. The assumption behind Henderson's theory is "nurses care for patients until patient can care for themselves once again. Patients desire to return to health, but this assumption is not explicitly stated" ("Virginia Henderson's nursing theory," 2012). She also established the four cornerstones of most modern nursing theory of person, environment, nursing, and health.

1960: Faye Abdallah's nursing theory Abdellah introduced a problem-focused approach to nursing that was critical in fostering support for regarding nursing as a standardized profession. "The client's health needs can be viewed as problems, which may be overt as an apparent condition, or covert as a hidden or concealed one" ("Faye G. Abdellah," 2014). 1952: Hildegard Pepalu's interpersonal relations theory is developed. Pepalu's theory reflects the influence of psychology on the discipline of nursing.

The "theory explains the purpose of nursing is to help others identify their felt difficulties" and focuses on the impact human relations have upon the nursing experience, specifically upon nurses as facilitators of mutually set goals between nurse and patient ("Hildegard Pepalu," 2012). Nursing is not something done 'to' the patient, rather it is the product of a dialogue between nurse and patient.

1960: Ida Orlando's processing theory Ida Orlando stressed the need for trained nursing perceptiveness in her theory: "the role of the nurse is to find out and meet the patient's immediate need for help. The patient's presenting behavior may be a plea for help, however, the help needed may not be what it appears to be" ("Ida Orlando," 2014). Once again, this was an important distinguishing factor in delineating nursing as a unique, distinct profession which required professional training.

1973: Betty Neuman's systems model first published The Neuman systems model was heavily influenced by systems theory, or the concept of interlocking systems influencing the health and well-being of an individual. Neuman perceived the health and well-being of the patient as being critically linked to the 'systems' of which it was a part which affected the patient's overall state of homeostasis.

"The particular inter-relationships of client variables at any point in time can affect the degree to which a client is protected by the flexible LOD [line of defense] against possible reaction to stressors. Each client / client system has evolved a normal range of responses to the environment that is referred to as a normal LOD. The normal LOD can be used as a standard from which to measure health deviation" ("Betty Neuman," 2012).

1982: Pender's health promotion model Increasingly, rather than focusing on nursing solely in terms of its ability to heal the sick, the concept of wellness promotion has been advocated. Rather than trying to restore the ill to a state of wellness, wellness is now viewed as a continuum. Biology, sociology, and psychology can all affect health. Pender's model has proven to be particularly useful in treating conditions like obesity, which are seldom the result of a single factor. Prior actions (such as food choices, upbringing, and self-esteem) can all affect behaviors.

Enhancing self-efficacy to promote change and also striving to change the environment to support that change are components of the model. "Judgment of personal capability to organise and execute a health-promoting behaviour. Perceived self-efficacy influences perceived barriers to action so higher efficacy result in lowered perceptions of barriers to the performance of the behavior" ("Health promotion," 2012). The health promotion model highlights the uniqueness of the discipline of nursing, versus other forms of medical science. The 'whole person' is treated and acknowledged as contributing to a state of health and well-being.

Cultural considerations are also factored into the ability of the client to promote wellness. The client has a critical role, particularly in supporting actions which provide freedom from.