Evolution Of Nursing In Australia
The HIERARCHY of NURSING in AUSTRALIA
The word “nurse” comes from the Latin word meaning to nourish or cherish.
Nursing has been a part of our lives since the evolution of mankind. It’s purely taught by Mother Nature, and learned through instinct by men and women, as what the people from the Stone Age did when they nursed their sick families.
Nursing had a historical journey from the beginning. In the early days, witchdoctors and priests would use herbal remedies and prescribed a barbaric act of treatment to nurse the sick because it was believed that they were punished for wrongdoing and had signs of evil spirits.
Around 300 BC, there was a Christian influence that women and men believed they …show more content…
were equal before God. Roman women looked after the sick as God’s earthly work. In 600 AD, Benedictine monks dedicated to care for the sick as one of their missions and around 1100 - 1200 AD, Charitable institutions were founded to care for sick, poor and old. They were known as faith community nurses who relied on orders from their fellow priests and physicians.
During t he crusades in Europe, 11th Century, some of the earliest organised
Nursing hospitals were established by military religious orders staffed by male nurses due to the slaughter of Christians and Muslims. Between 18th and 19th centuries were considered as the “Dark Ages” of Nursing. Hospitals were badly staffed with Nurses being untrained, had bad characters and low moral standards. Urban health issues such as overcrowding, poor ventilation, poor sanitation and poor hygiene caused many diseases and deaths.
In 1836, Theodor Fliedner, established a Deaconess Institution in Germany called
Kaiserwerth, which trained selected women as deaconesses the high standards of nursing to give the best quality of care for the sick. Kaiserwerth’s been a big influence to Modern Nursing and inspired people like Florence Nightingale.
Nightingale worked with the deaconesses to master nursing and was well known for her contribution in the 1854 Crimean War in Turkey where she drastically decreased poor sanitation percentage, obtained medical supplies, organised food supplies and improved nursing practice. She founded the first Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London, which carried her ideas to other British colonies and to other countries in the world including Australia.
The first nurses of Australia came from the early settlers of Sydney with convict backgrounds around 1790. They were given low public recognition with no wages. It wasn’t till 1838 when five Irish Sister of Charity and in 1868, five Nightingale nurses, arrived and trained the Australian nurses a number of practical skills such as strict hygiene and application of wound dressing.
They were trained to have good character traits. The Australian nurses later gained professional respect and recognition. By 1900, 3 year nurse training programs were introduced in larger hospitals taught by medical staff. Then, between 1920 and 1924, Registration of nurses was established all around Australian states. The quest for nurses’ professional recognition, increased wages and improved working conditions held a meeting in 1924 at Australian Nursing Federation and which continues today.
Nursing today has changed significantly due to the rapid advance of science and medical technology and increasing population. There is an extensive list of nursing specialities and they work in a wide range of medical departments and variety of institutions such as aged care facilities, schools and military. The role of a nurse has become more complex compared when it first started. Nurses today have more responsibilities; they assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for their patients while maintaining their credentials, code of ethics, standards and competencies. There are now a variety of levels and roles within the nursing profession.
The first level of nursing is the personal care attendant, followed by Enrolled nurse. The third level is Registered Nurse, then Clinical Nurse. Nurse unit managers are in fifth and the final level is the Director of Nursing. All of these levels of nursing profession have important roles in the community.
Nursing will continue to advance with the increasing population and the rapid technological development.
The word “nurse” comes from the Latin word meaning to nourish or cherish.
Nursing has been a part of our lives since the evolution of mankind. It’s purely taught by Mother Nature, and learned through instinct by men and women, as what the people from the Stone Age did when they nursed their sick families.
Nursing had a historical journey from the beginning. In the early days, witchdoctors and priests would use herbal remedies and prescribed a barbaric act of treatment to nurse the sick because it was believed that they were punished for wrongdoing and had signs of evil spirits.
Around 300 BC, there was a Christian influence that women and men believed they …show more content…
were equal before God. Roman women looked after the sick as God’s earthly work. In 600 AD, Benedictine monks dedicated to care for the sick as one of their missions and around 1100 - 1200 AD, Charitable institutions were founded to care for sick, poor and old. They were known as faith community nurses who relied on orders from their fellow priests and physicians.
During t he crusades in Europe, 11th Century, some of the earliest organised
Nursing hospitals were established by military religious orders staffed by male nurses due to the slaughter of Christians and Muslims. Between 18th and 19th centuries were considered as the “Dark Ages” of Nursing. Hospitals were badly staffed with Nurses being untrained, had bad characters and low moral standards. Urban health issues such as overcrowding, poor ventilation, poor sanitation and poor hygiene caused many diseases and deaths.
In 1836, Theodor Fliedner, established a Deaconess Institution in Germany called
Kaiserwerth, which trained selected women as deaconesses the high standards of nursing to give the best quality of care for the sick. Kaiserwerth’s been a big influence to Modern Nursing and inspired people like Florence Nightingale.
Nightingale worked with the deaconesses to master nursing and was well known for her contribution in the 1854 Crimean War in Turkey where she drastically decreased poor sanitation percentage, obtained medical supplies, organised food supplies and improved nursing practice. She founded the first Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London, which carried her ideas to other British colonies and to other countries in the world including Australia.
The first nurses of Australia came from the early settlers of Sydney with convict backgrounds around 1790. They were given low public recognition with no wages. It wasn’t till 1838 when five Irish Sister of Charity and in 1868, five Nightingale nurses, arrived and trained the Australian nurses a number of practical skills such as strict hygiene and application of wound dressing.
They were trained to have good character traits. The Australian nurses later gained professional respect and recognition. By 1900, 3 year nurse training programs were introduced in larger hospitals taught by medical staff. Then, between 1920 and 1924, Registration of nurses was established all around Australian states. The quest for nurses’ professional recognition, increased wages and improved working conditions held a meeting in 1924 at Australian Nursing Federation and which continues today.
Nursing today has changed significantly due to the rapid advance of science and medical technology and increasing population. There is an extensive list of nursing specialities and they work in a wide range of medical departments and variety of institutions such as aged care facilities, schools and military. The role of a nurse has become more complex compared when it first started. Nurses today have more responsibilities; they assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for their patients while maintaining their credentials, code of ethics, standards and competencies. There are now a variety of levels and roles within the nursing profession.
The first level of nursing is the personal care attendant, followed by Enrolled nurse. The third level is Registered Nurse, then Clinical Nurse. Nurse unit managers are in fifth and the final level is the Director of Nursing. All of these levels of nursing profession have important roles in the community.
Nursing will continue to advance with the increasing population and the rapid technological development.