The Evolving Role of Nursing
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Nursing: Then and Now
Nursing has come a long way from when the profession first began in the 1800s. Beginning in the early 20th century, nursing education was not offered by colleges or universities, but by hospitals. Nursing students provided long hours of service to the hospital, working every day during the week for 10 to 12-hour shifts. Their primary work was similar to that of a maid, including basic cleaning duties like dusting, mopping and washing dishes.
After graduating, nurses in the early 1900s often began their work in patients' homes as a private-duty nurse. Wage for these nurses averaged around $5 dollars per week, which at this time was very little. By the 1920s, nurses still continued to earn low wages and perform general care-giving tasks for patients such as inserting catheters, giving baths, dressing wounds and managing patients' enemas and medications.
As hospitals evolved, becoming a place for treatment and healing rather than simply institutions for the dying, nursing also went through changes as well. The profession of nursing emerged after the war as nurses sought more independence as well as education. One of the largest developments for nursing came about in the 1960s with the nurse practitioner movement. Nurses who trained for this advanced degree were able to be semi-independent and could administer many things that had traditionally been reserved for doctors.
Today, nurses enjoy an immensely greater responsibility and diversity in their professions. What was once a role devoted strictly to women is now a career that many men choose as well. Also, with greater education, nurses are able to advance their training, demonstrating that societal changes and technology have opened up many doors and opportunities for men and women in the field of nursing.