Social and Historical Context of Nursing

The position of males in nursing appears to be circular, from eleventh- to thirteenth-century Europe, when they provided much of the nursing care, to Nightingale’s period, when the male role was limited to providing physical strength, to now, when roughly 8% of nursing students are men. Consider what may be done to complete the circle or, at the very least, close the gender gap in nursing.

Gender discrimination in nursing has resulted in a growing gap in this health-care system. There are several strategies that can be implemented to help overcome this gap. Education and awareness is a major strategy that can be used to ensure that male individuals are incorporated into the sector. The olden ideologies and myths surrounding nursing such as feminists should be clarified. Incentives such as scholarships and grants should be awarded to male students undertaking the nursing course. The few male nurses that already exist should stand out as role models for their fellow males to take interest in this career

Review the progression of nursing during the 20th century and write your opinion of one thing that had the most effect upon the profession and why.

Although the number of males in the nursing profession had increased in the 20th century, the issue of gender segregation still had an effect on this profession. Nurses were still viewed as people who were to be motherly with nurturing abilities, people who were submissive to the authority. This would make it difficult for the male counterparts to agree to get into the female dominated profession, for the fear of being undermined and being discriminated against.

In 1896, the first convention of the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada was held. In 1911, this organization became the America Nurses Association. When was the men nurses section of the ANA formed?

National men nurses association was formed in 1971 by Steve Miller, who saw the need of like-minded men to come together and form the association.

Review the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) research more about the organization. Discuss why was this organization formed? Who were the founders?

The national association of colored graduate nurses was formed with a sole aim of ensuring integration of black nurses into the nursing jobs and schools and to fight discrimination against the black nurses that had existed before. The black nurses had to fight for their integration into being members of the American nursing association. Some of the founders of this association included Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne who held the presidential position alongside Mabel Staupers who was an executive director. Other co-founders included Martha franklin, Adah Belle, and Mary Eliza Mahoney. They achieved what they were fighting for with the end result being that the black nurses were accorded membership within the American nursing association.

How did each of these great women influence nursing?

Isabel Hampton Robb

Isabel was the founder of the American nurses association

Ethel Bedford Fenwick

Ethel was the founder of the international council of nurses, aimed at bringing together nurses from different nationalities.

Sallie Thompkins

She was the only confederate woman to hold military rank.

Florence Nightingale

Various achievements can be attributed to Florence nightingale. From her efforts in the Crimean war, she brought reforms in the medical system of the British army. Nightingale also founded the first nurses’ training school in London as well as the modern nursing system

Dorothea Dix

Dix fought for better treatment of mental illness patients in jails and in the asylums, she also expanded over thirty hospitals for the treatment of mental illness patients.

Mary Eliza Mahoney

She was one of the founders and a lifetime member of the national association of colored graduate nurses. She fought against social discrimination against the black nurses till her death.

Linda Richards

A graduate in 1874, Linda Richard was the first trained nurse in the United States.

Clara Barton

She was the founder of the American Red Cross.