Introduction
I have always been the “caretaker” in my family. If someone were hurting, he or she came to me and told me his or her symptoms, and I did my research and told them what I thought about it. Before that, when I was about three years old, I took care of my newborn baby sister. My mama was sick, and my step dad was at work, so I took care of my sister. People ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, and they always get some crazy answer like a movie star. When my mama asked me, I said a doctor. I have since learned that doctors do make a lot of money, but they spend most of it on insurance. My career goal has changed; now I want to be a nurse of some kind, but it is still in the medical field. My grandma said that I like school so much that I will not stop going until I become a doctor. She was right about many things, but I am not so sure about that one. A Registered Nurse (RN) is a good career with a wonderful history, and a nice salary, but you need specific qualities to be an RN.
History
Nursing, like everything else, has a history that has evolved over time. Learning the history of nursing is important because it will help you to learn what kind of traits you need to become a nurse. In 400 B.C., there were mother-nurses who worked with priests in primitive societies (Delaune 6-8). Caregivers didn’t have any training and the only hospitals were really religious institutions. These hospitals were in monasteries and convents . The dominant caregivers were primarily men. St. Jerome and Fabiola were responsible for the first hospital in the West (Delaune 6-8). Things pretty much stayed this way with health care until 1903 when North Carolina passed the first state nursing registration law (Delaune 6-8). In 1923, Yale University School of Nursing was founded (Delaune 6-8). In the 1960’s Medicaid and Medicare was created (Delaune 6-8).
Some interesting people who influenced nursing are Lillian Wald, Isabel Hampton