Nursing

the long version

An historical perspective and a knowledge and understanding of the growth and development of nursing will assist the nurse to understand and appreciate the basic ideals and principles of her nursing heritage. Such knowledge and understanding will guide her in the exercise of wise judgment in the immediate problem-solving situations and decisions of today, and serve her as a stable frame of reference and a mount of vision for the planning of the future. A study of the evolution of professional nursing will reveal that the profession has been firmly rooted in the social milieu of its day. Its pattern of growth and development has been intimately related to the socioeconomic and political conditions, and has been stimulated and directed by the prevailing philosophical thought of the times. Professional nursing expresses an organized response to a consciousness of social need and demand for a particular service. - p. 3-4.