Foundations of Professional Nursing

Foundations of Professional Nursing 1
Foundations of Professional Nursing
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Foundations of Professional Nursing

Foundations of Professional Nursing 2
Introduction
Nurses are an integral member of the health system responsible for providing care to the
patients based on ethical issues. In any healthcare setup, a nurse continuously juggles
between multiple role like care provider, counsellor, patient’s advocate, communicator and a
teacher. Though classical nursing often document a nurse as an assistant or handmaidens to
the doctors, but contemporary nursing is task-based dependent on several sets of technical
education and skills. With advancement of time, involvement of multiple stakeholders, and
healthcare reforms across the globe the role of nurses has widely expanded. A significant
change is witnessed in education, role, and duties of a nurse. This advancement in modern
day nursing is known to be influenced by various historical, political, and/or socio cultural
factors. Hence, it is necessary for a nurse to have an in-depth understanding about these
factors and how these factors influence the course of nursing professional. This paper is
envisioned to discuss two such factors which has a very strong influence on foundation of
professional nursing, namely historical and political.
Historical Influence
History of nursing is as old as 4000 years, when ancient Egyptian doctors and nurses devoted
their life to take care of the sick. The history of healthcare and nursing can provide several
examples of wisdom of our forbearers in providing treatment to the needy in challenging
situation in an unknown future. History of nursing can state names of several women and
men who had ardently spent their life to nursing and have left a strong impression in terms of
providing care and nursing. Each one of them robustly influence the contemporary nursing
profession. One such name from history of nursing is “Sisters of mercy”.
From early to mid-19th century in Ireland several Irish women were deeply concerned with
the plight of the sick poor and were driven to care for them. But, due to some of the

Foundations of Professional Nursing 3
unavoidable social circumstances it was required that these women form an organisation of
religious sisters. They named the organization as “Sisters of Mercy”, this organization was
led by Catherine McAuley. This organization provided daily care for the sick poor in their
homes, which included providing physical, spiritual and emotional comfort and consolation,
as well as advice about coping with diseases and social conditions (Carroll 1883, Carroll
1866). In in 1832, during the first great cholera epidemic, the sisters of mercy provided
compassionate care to the patients in the Dublin hospital and helped to control the epidemic
(Carroll, 1883). During this period, they extended their knowledge about providing care to
critically ill patients. During the time of the Crimean war in 1853–1856, twelve nurses from
sister of mercy served the war patients, later at the end of war the sister of mercy were
recognized as skilled nurses. Catherine McAuley, the founder and leader of sisters of mercy
provided the idea of“careful nursing”which is still reflected in modern day nursing. The basic
ideology of sisters of mercy was to encourage careful nursing which can engage nurses and
provide meaningful direction for practice. Furthermore, it was anticipated that by
implementing careful nursing, a nurse could help to decrease incidents of incompetent and
insensitive practice and sustain already exemplary practice. The ideology of sister of mercy
became the foundation stone of nursing and in 1854, careful nursing was set up a model of
nursing.
The historical influence of sister of influence is seen on the model of modern day nursing.
This model provides a structure, processes and values for nursing practice, supports nurses’
control over their practice and can be used in all types of practice areas and settings(Dunbar
et al. 2007). The model of careful nursing as advocated by sisters of mercy has ten basic
principles viz.disinterested love, contagious calmness, creation of a restorative environment,
‘perfect’ skill in fostering safety and comfort, nursing interventions, health education,