Evolution of Nursing Practice

Evolution of Nursing Practice
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Evolution of Nursing Practice
Nursing is one of the professions characterized by significant transitions accounting for its evolution to becoming the frontline caregivers across the diverse healthcare settings worldwide. Nursing practice emerged as a profession in the mid-19th century following Florence Nightingale’s remarkable accomplishments as a caregiver at a British military hospital in Turkey during the Crimean War in 1854. Nightingale’s achievement of bringing down the mortality rate of British soldiers during the Crimean War laid the foundation for her to open a nursing school in 1860 and thus pioneering the evolution of the nursing profession. Provided herein is a discussion of this evolution in nursing practice and its implications across the equally diverse aspects of the profession.
Evolution of Nursing Practice and its Impact on Scope of Practice and the Approach to Treating the Individual
The evolution of the nursing practice is characterized by significant and equally diverse changes affecting both the scope of practice and the approach patient care. Among the key changes is the formalization and continuous enhancement of nursing education. Nursing education and training has evolved over time from the simplistic training of women to become caregivers in the early 19th century to the specific and in-depth nursing programs offered across different levels of study in the 20th century CITATION Tex19 \l 1033 (Texas Woman's University, 2019). According to Texas Woman’s University (2019), there over 871 institutions offering undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate nursing education programs in the United States CITATION Tex19 \l 1033 (Texas Woman's University, 2019). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) further recommend a bachelor’s degree in nursing as a necessity for registered nurses for effective management of the increasingly complicated patient care needs.
The changes in nursing education witnessed over time in nursing practice further account for the widening of nursing responsibilities. Nowadays nursing practice beyond the provision of patient care as per the doctors’ or physicians’ directives to autonomous discharge of their acquired knowledge and skills including specialized roles provided by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN). Such nurses provide nursing care tasks such as carrying out diagnoses, administering patient medications, and recommending treatment plans. The broadening of the scope of nursing practice also includes increased participation in leadership across different healthcare settings toward enhancing the delivery of patient care for overall improvement in patient outcomes. It suffices, therefore, that the evolution of nursing practice accounts for significant improvement in patient outcomes through the delivery of quality, safe, an affordable care to individual patient.
Comparison of Practice Competencies between ADN and BSN in Nursing
The evolution of nursing education in nursing practice features different levels of academic certification to become a registered nurse including the associate degree in nursing and the...