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.

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YEGTLIQES

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XI. Immediate Reaction to V. The Influence of Secular Orders 1271 to 1500 Nursing was done by a number of orders which refused to be bound by the laws of the church and retained much social independence. The Beguines was one of these peculiar orders. They established communities for charitable service with nursing the chief service. VI. Beginning of Decline of Nursing 1500 to 1675 The crisis of Reformation began about 1520, and after the introduction of Protestantism monks and nuns either had their convents or monasteries de- stroyed or were rendered so poor they could not carry on nursing. VII. The Dark Period of' Nursing 1675 to 1850 Civilian influence gradually produced a period of stagnation and lack of interest in nursing which was increased by lack of funds with which to carry on. Nurses were overworked, underfed and poorly housed. Eventually only the poorest classes of women could be induced to take up nursing. These had no sense of dignity or humanity and were usually ignor- ant, dishonest, drunken, and immoral. VIII. Revival of' the Deaconess 1836 In Holland the Mennonites had church workers corresponding to the deaconesses. These nurses were the inspiration of Pastor Theodore Flagner, of Keaser- werth, Germany. ln 1836 he opened the first modern deaconess hospital in Keaserwerth, Germany. Much of the early nursing, including that of the Revolution- ary and Civil Wars, was done by religious orders. It seems well to record here that monks and nuns of the Catholic Church, in spite of political differences, wars, and periodical inclifferences of civilians, have devotedly taken care of the sick and the poor. They are still carrying on and in the progress of times. IX. Influence of New Methods in Medicine and Surgery- 1865 to 1898 Many new fields were opened as Anesthesia, 1846, Louis Pasteur's germ theory of disease in 18543 in 1843, Dr. Cack introduces the new method of labora- tory technic Lord Joseph Lister introduced surgical asepsis in 1827. The work of these men, with many more, had a great influence on nursing. The new methods of treatment required more skill in nursing. Florence Nightingale, as a contemporary, con- tributed to the success of their achievements by formulating a plan of nursing adapted to the needs of a new technic. X. Nursing Under a New Influence?-1898 to 1914- Signs of a dawning group conscoinsness in nurses were shown about the time of the Spanish-American War. Its first evidence appeared in the organization of the Alumnae Association. Some of these nurses, united primarily to keep in touch with their own schools, visioned the advantages to be gained from broader contacts stimulated by representation in a congress of hospitals and dispensaries which met in Chicago in 1893. These pioneers of a profes- sion brought about national union of their scattered groups. Among its outstanding results have been the laws governing registration, many changes in educational methods, establish- ment of funds for relief of sick and needy members, and the beginning of growth of body of nursing literature. till, of , SHE E 5 . as ,lg 'fi ll Krlij 'lf l'laSPlfa Used? 'V -J 1-,..ll..ll. Fa.. yr? World War-1918 to 1920 The cessation of the World War brought the nursing profession out of its isolation from other lines of work. its interests have established a closer connnection with those of all other pro- fessional women. Y Sisterlof- cbd-Pi-9 2-su! K. ser-sue:-th Deaconess .f Nw f l ML.. t-Ssbtrh Num Fifty-one