Jefferson Medical College School of Nursing - Nosokomos Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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X : 9 I , O Piwtrtvfmljrhe. X C,odd.ees ofHgqLin3 44199 garsly Cgisifiglauo Fifty The Histor I. Pre-Christian Era The art of nursing began when the first mother cared for and protected her children. She learned to create a means of meeting emergencies as well as prevent- ing them. The helpless be- came her special charge. The generation of women following her have demonstrated a natu- ral aptitude for this important service to the human race. In earlier times the mothers were solely interested in the welfare of their own families. They tried to make them strong and healthy because they loved them. As care during sick- ness was a large part of their responsibility they developed skill in giving it. R.of1lZ?.'QaxQl'arL The kindly successful mother gave the result of her experi- ence to her neighbor and in this way simple Init definite ways of nursing spread through- - out communities. Early at- tempts at the prevention of disease one recorded in the story of Moses who lived about 1500 B. C. He made rules for personal hygiene and en- forced community sanitation. it Down through the Dark Ages the work of a nurse has been associated with motherhood. with neighborly deeds of kind- ness the peaks of existence, birth and death. ller wonderful helpfulness and in- fluence during war, earthquakes, floods, famine and other disasters as well as her never-failing infiuencc as teacher of health have been in the course of time gracefully recognized. 3' of Nursing II. Nursing Under the Christian Influence I A. D. to 1000 A. D. The teachings of Christ aroused in the people a great desire to assist those less fortunate than them- selves. Phoebe, a friend of St. Paul, who, in 60 A. D., was first mentioned as giving house to house care of the sick, was the first visiting nurse and first deaconess. About the fourth century a number of Roman matrons who, having been converted to Christianity, became interested in the sick and poor. Marcella established the first monastery. Fabiola opened the first Christian hospital in her own palace. Paula trained other women to nurse and made a pilgrimage to Palestine where she established hospitals. Ill. Nursing Under Military Influence 1000 to 1096 Soon after the ascension of Christ it became popular to make pilgrimages to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The journey was a long and perilous one and many fell exhausted by the wayside. As the number of pilgrims increased to hundreds and even thousands, hospitals were-built to care for them on their journey. Contention and warfare arose over the possession of the city of Jerusalem which fell into the hands of the Mohammedans. Pilgrimages continued but could not longer be made in safety. They were now accom- panied by violence and highway robberies. A pilgrim was forced to change into a warrior, as the result of this confiict the number of hospitals increased. IV. Crusades, 1096 to 1271 The Crusades were a series of wars carried on by the Christians of Europe for the purpose of rescu- ing holy places of Palestine from the hands of the Mohammedans. Hospitals were built in Jerusalem which took care of all sects. Nursing was done prin- cipally by the Knights Hospitallers, although the monks and nuns of the monasteries continued to care for many patients. The military discipline in hospitals which has existed to this day is thought to date from that time.