Nursing: Know All About This Hallowed Institution

TRACING THE ROOT OF NURSE

Take for instance the word ‘nurse'. A nurse is a person trained to care for the sick or infirm and assist doctors or dentists. One also refers to a nurse as a nursemaid. The singular verb form of the word ‘nurse' means to work as a nurse or to attend to a sick person. The other verb forms of the term mean feeding or to be fed at the breast; to hold or to treat carefully. The word also means a foster (mother); The term also means to promote the development of something. Yet another meaning is to harbor a grievance etc.). The root is from the Latin term pointing to nourish.

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

British nurse Florence Nightingale established the foundations of modern nursing with her treatment of the sick and injured during the Crimean War of 1853 to 1856. Once back in London after the war, she founded the Nightingale School and Home for Nurses using money donated in tribute to her services. The school marked the beginning of professional education in the nursing field. Her book Notes on Nursing became the first definitive textbook for the field.

THE ROOT OF SCRUB

The keyword ‘scrub' also has several meanings. As a verb it refers to the cleaning process especially with a hard brush and water. The medical connotation is different of course. The word scrub is usually followed by the subject who uses it, as for instance, a surgeon; in this sense the term means the apparatus used by a surgeon to clean and disinfect the hands and arms prior to operating. The colloquial meaning is to scrap or cancel. The noun form of the term is to use water to remove impurities, say from gases etc. Another noun meaning of the term is scrubbing or being scrubbed. The root of the word is traced to Low German or Dutch.
There is another noun connotation which points to a brushwood or a stunted forest growth. It also refers to any land covered with this type of shrub. Yet another attribute of the term is a small or a dwarf variety of the scrub pine). The adjective form is scrubby.

WHAT EXACTLY IS NURSING SCRUB?

Nursing scrub means the different types of equipment used in the medical institutions. This article aims at providing a one-window stop for any person wishing to find anything about nursing scrub. Significantly, even the web does not have a proper answer to the queries pertaining to nursing scrub.
A nursing scrub is a vital means to bring in hygiene in the hospitals. Nursing scrub is used for disinfecting purposes either before or after any operation process. The term nursing scrub is a combination of two terms, viz., nurse and scrub. Hence, it would be pertinent to first know the various meanings of these two terms. It would also be helpful to also trace the roots of these two terms.

MERCANTILE VALUE OF NURSING SCRUBS

In the recent times, various companies have come up to manufacture, and market the nursing scrubs. Taking into consideration the immense potential market for nursing scrubs and its never saturating prospect, nursing scrub manufacturing and marketing have combined to form a viable industry.

SURFING FOR NURSING SCRUBS

When one surfs the internet for the nursing scrubs, one will definitely get the feel of the huge mercantile impact of this ancillary medical sector. Be it the quality or the material or the price, one would have to patiently log on to the different sites dealing with nursing scrubs to get the best among them. Of course, patience will ultimately pay off. You would ultimately lay your hands on the reasonably priced quality nursing scrubs.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF NURSING SCRUB

Nursing scrubs vary in shape, size, color and material. Nursing scrub can be a simple safety pin and can also be a pair of scissors or a pair of gloves for that matter. The only connecting links among these various nursing scrubs are that they are sterilized and ready to use.

WHERE TO FIND NURSING SCRUB

The internet is the ideal place to find for answers to immense queries of mankind. However, with reference to nursing scrub, the different sites provide very limited scope. One can, of course, find the lists of various sites selling with the nursing scrubs or their prices. But then, one has to keep on constantly move form one site to another to seek the apt answer. This becomes rather tedious and cumbersome.

HOSPITAL ROOT

Since nursing scrub is used in hospitals, it would now be necessary to know the meaning of the word ‘hospital'. It basically points to an institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for ill and injured people. Its root is ‘hospice' - a Latin term meaning playing host to somebody. The noun form ‘hospitality' means friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests or strangers. The verb form ‘hospitalize' or ‘hospitalise' or hospitalizing or hospitalising means to send or admit a patient to a hospital. The noun form is hospitalization.

WHO EXACTLY IS A SCRUB NURSE?

The scrub nurse performs a vital function in any operation theatre. The nurse scrub, for instance, readies all operation instruments, ensures the sterility of the surgical field, and anticipates when instruments will be needed by the surgeon.
The circulating nurse makes sure the operating room is adequately supplied and provides any additional supplies to the scrub nurse during the operation. Depending upon the hospital, surgical assistants, physician assistants, surgical residents, medical students, and nursing students may also attend an operation.

PRACTICAL & REGISTERED NURSES

The practical nurse has an education and license very different from that of the registered nurse. The program for practical nurses takes approximately one year and includes classroom work and practical training in a hospital. Such programs are usually offered through vocational or technical schools, and graduates must also take a licensing examination in order to practice. The test, however, is different from that taken by Registered Nurses. After passing the examination, these graduates may use the initials LPN (licensed practical nurse) or LVN (licensed vocational nurse) after their names. These nurses practice under the supervision of the registered nurse.

DELVING DEEP INTO NURSING

Nursing has a broad purview. Nursing, in general, is the process of caring for, or nurturing, another individual. More specifically, nursing refers to the functions and duties carried out by persons who have had formal education and training in the art and science of nursing.
Professional nurses combine many different disciplines, including aspects of biology and psychology, to promote the restoration and maintenance of health in their clients.
There are two major categories of nurses: licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. In recent years, efforts have been made by several professional nursing organizations to designate two categories of registered nurses, technical and professional, that basically reflect the educational preparation of the individual.

A HALLOWED ORGANISATION

The ANA is the professional organization for nurses in the United States of America. Only registered nurses are admitted to its membership. It is made up of state and local organizations, and its major purposes are to promote high standards of nursing care, to improve the quality and availability of health care, and to foster the professional development of nurses.
Another organization supporting the profession is the National League for Nursing (NLN); its membership includes nurses, persons from other health professions, and interested laypersons. One major function of the NLN is the accreditation of educational programs in nursing. It also offers testing and consultation services.
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a worldwide organization established as a federation of national nursing organizations. The ANA represents the United States in this council. In addition to the above organizations, a variety of professional groups focus on particular nursing specialties. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is such an organization.

HISTORY OF NURSING

In earlier centuries, nursing care was usually provided by volunteers who had little or no training—most commonly men and women of various religious orders. During the Crusades, for example, some military orders of knights also provided nursing care, most notably the Knights Hospitalers.
Toward the end of the 18th century nursing was considered an unsuitable occupation for "proper" young women, undoubtedly due to the fact that hospitals in those days were dirty and pestilent places where patients usually died. As a result, those who provided nursing care were commonly persons who had been imprisoned for drunkenness or who could not find work elsewhere.

MODERN NURSING

Modern nursing began in the mid-19th century with the advent of the Nightingale training schools for nurses. In the United States, the Spanish-American War and, later, World War I established the need for more nurses in both military and civilian life. As a result, nursing schools increased their enrollments, and several new programs were developed. In 1920 a study funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and known as the Goldmark Report recommended that schools of nursing be made independent of hospitals and that students must no longer be exploited as cheap labor. Following the publication of this report, several university schools of nursing were opened.
During the depression of the 1930s, many nurses were unemployed, and the number of schools declined. World War II, however, brought about another increased demand for nurses. The Cadet Nurse Corps, established in 1943, subsidized nursing education for thousands of young people who agreed to engage in nursing for the duration of the war.
Since the end of World War II, technological advances in medicine and health have required nurses to become knowledgeable about sophisticated equipment, to learn about an increasing number of medications, and to design nursing care appropriate for the health care delivery system during a period of rapid change.

FORMAL NURSING EDUCATION & NURSING SCRUB

Formal nursing education in the United States had its antecedents in Europe and England. One of the first formal training programs for nurses was begun in 1836 in Kaiserswerth, Germany, by Pastor Theodor Fliedner for the Order of Deaconesses. Other religious orders were also providing formalized training for nurses in Europe at that time, but Fliedner's school is noteworthy for having given the British nursing reformer Florence Nightingale her formal training. Her experience at Kaiserswerth gave her the impetus to organize nursing care on the battlefields of the Crimean War and, later, to establish a nurse training program at Saint Thomas's Hospital in London. In the late 1800s training schools patterned after this model were established in the United States.

HUMBLE BEGINNING

Originally, nurses received little or no classroom preparation. Most of the training was based on apprenticeship, with older students teaching the younger ones how to care for patients. All programs were directed by hospitals, and nursing students provided low-cost service to the institutions; upon graduation, most of them worked as private-duty nurses in patients' homes. Hospital-based programs still exist today and are known as diploma schools of nursing. They offer a sound educational background for nursing practice in a program that contains both theoretical information and practical experience, but the diploma they grant is not an academic degree.

DIPLOMA NURSING SCHOOLS

Most diploma schools, however, are affiliated with a college where the nursing students can take courses for academic credit. In recent years, some hospitals have applied to their state boards of higher education for permission to award an associate degree in nursing. This trend has sparked debate within the nursing profession over the question of whether a hospital can qualify as an institution of higher education. The major focus of diploma education is to prepare nurses to give direct bedside care in hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutional settings. Graduates of these programs are eligible to take the licensing examination in the state in which they wish to practice. Upon passing, they may legally practice nursing and are allowed to use the initials RN (registered nurse) after their names.

Many diploma schools closed after 1965, when the American Nurses' Association (ANA) published a position paper stating that all nursing education should take place in institutions of higher learning. The organization also recommended two levels of nursing practice: professional and technical; the professional nurse would have a baccalaureate or higher degree, the technical nurse would have an associate degree, and the technical nurse would work under the direct supervision of the professional nurse.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING PROGRAMS

Associate degree nursing programs were introduced in the United States in 1952. They are primarily offered by community colleges, although a number can be found in four-year institutions. It is a two-year program that strongly emphasizes technical skills supported by a basic foundation in biological and behavioral sciences. The associate degree graduate also takes the state licensing examination and can practice nursing using the initials RN. Baccalaureate degree programs in nursing are found in colleges and universities throughout the United States. The program takes four years to complete and provides a strong base of liberal education in the arts, sciences, and humanities. These programs also emphasize bedside patient care, and provide courses in community health nursing, leadership and management, and nursing research. Graduates take the same licensing examination as other graduates and also receive the RN designation.

MASTER'S & DOCTORAL DEGREES IN NURSING

Master's and doctoral degrees in nursing usually require the applicant to be a graduate of an accredited baccalaureate nursing program. The emphasis of graduate programs is primarily on research, advanced clinical practice, and the preparation of nursing educators and administrators.

CONCLUSION

All in all, nursing today is a highly paying and professional vocation. A well-versed nurse can be the first step to the recuperation of a patient. The care and expertise that are the hallmarks of a well-trained nurse are the vital points that go a long way in the treatment of any individual suffering from any ailment. The psychological backup coupled with the medical knowledge has made this tribe a vital component of the medical industry.