Letter To Nursing

The purpose that I am writing this letter is to address why it is important for nurses to study the discipline of nursing. This is an ideal question for me to answer because being a nurse; an enrolled nurse to a registered nurse, I, have not really ask myself this question until you proposed this question to the class as an assignment question. I, personally, recommend that I write to you. Nurses have a responsibility to articulate the unique contributions that how nursing have significantly impacted in the healthcare system and why it is beneficial to the society (Koerner, 1993). Koerner’s example of articulating the work of nurses was made comparable to the story of – Alice in Wonderland, that when nursing is being questioned “who are
For nurses who face stigma, prejudice, shame and inferiority or are unware of the depth of nursing history and culture, answering this question is not easy. I do have difficulties answering this question many times despite being in this profession since the year 2012. Not every nurse feels a connection with the history of nursing but I am sure many nurses still do. Some nurses may consider that the history of nursing is archaic and no longer relevant, and it might not be necessary during the modern times of nursing today (Holme, 2015). Perhaps for some nurses, appreciation of nursing history is unimportant; but for others, appreciating our history and exploring our nursing roots offer a robust variety of benefits (Holme, 2015). The history of nursing provides nurses with a connection to our values, beliefs and customs (Madsen, 2008; Lewenson, 2004). Further explained by Madsen (2008) appreciating our roots further, it betters the understanding of the work and contributions of notable nursing history figures and the history of how nursing
In Chinese, there is a saying and I quote, “饮水思原” (yin shui si yuan) – which means that when you are drinking the water; think about the source where the water flows. In a deeper meaning, it means do not forget our roots and this applies to nursing today. I read the article of Lewenson (2004), he wrote that if nurses do not appreciate our own history and understand roots, we do not expect the next generation to do so. To add, another Chinese quote, “前人种树,后人乘凉” (qian ren zhong shu, hou ren cheng liang) – which means that the generation before who planted the trees, but is the generations after that enjoy the shade. Literally, it can be translated into nursing context that how nursing is today is the effort of pioneer generations of nurses – most notably is the contributions of Florence Nightingale, so nurses of the present should do likewise for the future generation of nurses. If as nurses, we do not preserve our history and roots, this is to do it at our own peril (Scott, 2002).
The roots of nursing play an important part when studying the discipline of nursing, it begins with understanding our history, only then we, as nurses, begin to value it. From there, we can learn to care for this discipline and eventually enjoy the benefits of being in this discipline. With more enjoyment, more nurses will be keen to learn, understand and