Nursing Knowledge
Over the years, nursing has evolved not only as a profession but also a hands-on discipline. Nursing is a theory-based practice that evolves and grows continuously through research. Fawcett (1984) defined nursing’s metaparadigm as the overall overview of nursing which consists the concepts of person, environment, health and nursing. Nursing practice began to evolve in the early 18th century. I will be exploring the different major influences that have altered the practice of nursing to what it is today, namely the traditional role of women, feminism, religion, military, apprenticeship, technology and medicine.
In the 19th century, the role of women was traditionally one of a homemaker. She was responsible for the care of the family and managed all aspects of their household. Women’s role as a domestic specialist has many similarities with the nurses’ roles. According to Hughes’ (1990), the ideology of domesticity rationalised nursing as a legitimate, if temporary, occupation for women. Nurses had difficulty identifying themselves as professionals due to the perception of the society of their nursing roles. “As a socially defined duty of women, caring for others was not seen by society as necessitating the specialised expertise that typified the work of a professional” (Hughes, 1990). This stressed the society’s perception that nursing is a women’s work by society.
Over the years, this idea has changed as the roles of women in society became more important and the role of nurses became more defined. While it is still largely dominated by women we have seen an increasing trend of male nurses joining the nursing profession, not only in Singapore but also worldwide. In reference to a Sunday Times article by Nur Dianah Suhaimi in 2009, she mentioned that out of the 18,400 active nurses in Singapore, 7.5% are male. There has also been an increase of male nurses in the profession over the years. Statistics showed that there were 998 male nurses active in the nursing
In the 19th century, the role of women was traditionally one of a homemaker. She was responsible for the care of the family and managed all aspects of their household. Women’s role as a domestic specialist has many similarities with the nurses’ roles. According to Hughes’ (1990), the ideology of domesticity rationalised nursing as a legitimate, if temporary, occupation for women. Nurses had difficulty identifying themselves as professionals due to the perception of the society of their nursing roles. “As a socially defined duty of women, caring for others was not seen by society as necessitating the specialised expertise that typified the work of a professional” (Hughes, 1990). This stressed the society’s perception that nursing is a women’s work by society.
Over the years, this idea has changed as the roles of women in society became more important and the role of nurses became more defined. While it is still largely dominated by women we have seen an increasing trend of male nurses joining the nursing profession, not only in Singapore but also worldwide. In reference to a Sunday Times article by Nur Dianah Suhaimi in 2009, she mentioned that out of the 18,400 active nurses in Singapore, 7.5% are male. There has also been an increase of male nurses in the profession over the years. Statistics showed that there were 998 male nurses active in the nursing
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