PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Professions, Professionalism And Professional Behaviour



Professions, professionalism and professional behaviour

Introduction

It is important for a student eager to provide patient care to learn about nursing history. Nursing's history provides a framework for understanding how nursing is practiced today and the societal trends that shape the profession. The characteristics of nursing as a profession and what nurses do today have roots in the past, not only in the history of nursing but also of health care and society in general. Today, health care is highly complex; diagnosis methods and treatment have been developed to offer many opportunities for prevention, treatment, and cures that did not exist even a few years ago.

Understanding this growth process is part of this discussion; it helps us to appreciate where nursing is today and may provide stimulus for changes in the future. It is important to remember that “nursing is conceptualized as a practice discipline with a mandate from society to enhance the health and well-being of humanity”. But the past portrayal of nurses as handmaidens and assistants to physicians has its roots in the profession's religious beginnings (Swick, 2000)

Discussion

When nursing history is described, distinct historical periods typically are discussed: early history (AD 1-500), rise of Christianity and the Middle Ages (500-1500), Renaissance (mid-1300s-1600s), and the Industrial Revolution (mid-1700s-mid-1800s). In addition, the historical perspective must include the different regions and environments in which the historical events took place. Early history focuses on Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Middle East. The focus then turns to Europe, with the rise of Christianity and subsequent major changes that span several centuries. Nursing history expands as colonists arrive in America and a new environment helps to further the development of the nursing profession.

Throughout all these periods and locations, wars have had an impact on nursing. As a consequence of the varied places and times in which nursing has existed, major historical events, different cultures and languages, varying views on what constitutes disease and illness, roles of women, political issues, and location and environment have influenced the profession. Nursing has probably existed for as long as humans have been ill; someone took care of the sick. This does not mean that there was a formal nursing position; rather, in most early cases, the nurse was a woman who cared for ill family members. This discussion begins with this group and then expands.

Early history of nursing focuses on the Ancient Egyptians and Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. During this time, communities often had women who assisted with childbearing as a form of nursing care, and some physicians had assistants. The Egyptians had physicians, and sick persons looking for magical answers would go to them or to priests or sorcerers. Hebrew (Jewish) physicians kept records and developed a hygiene code that examined issues such as personal and community hygiene, contagion, disinfection, and preparation of food and water (Masters, 2005). This occurred at a time when hygiene was very poor, a condition that continued for several ...