• THE word “nurse” means many things to many different people. However, AllNurses.com traces the origins of the word back to the 13th century from the Latin “nurtrire,” referring to one who nourishes, and the French “nourrice,” which refers to a wet nurse (or a breast-feeding woman).
During the 16th Century the word “nurse” evolved to describe “a woman who waited upon or tended to the sick”. Today, Webster Dictionary defines nurses as “a person who is trained to care for sick or injured people and who usually works in a hospital or doctor’s office,” although we know nurses can work in many different health care environments (i.e., nursing homes, health clinics, schools, hospitals, etc.).
• Linda Richards (July 27, 1841 – April 16, 1930) of West Potsdam, New York became the first nurse to earn a nursing diploma in the United States in 1873. The first professionally trained American nurse, she established nursing training programs in the U.S. and Japan, and created the first system for keeping individual medical records for hospitalized patients.
• In October of 1902, Lina Rogers Struthers became the first school nurse in the United States.
• Florence Nightingale, the most famous nurse in modern history, was only a nurse for three years of her life. Florence is considered a pioneer in nursing for her work during the Crimean War, which ranged from 1853 to 1856.
According to the Registered Nursing Association of Ontario, in Canada, Florence was called the “Lady with the Lamp”, tirelessly tending to wounded soldiers in various hospitals during the night. Florence’s compassion, commitment, and patient care is considered a model for the modern nursing profession.
• In the U.S. military, approximately one-third of all nurses are male.
• Only three out of five nurses work in hospitals. Nurses also work in schools, correctional facilities, private companies, home health, nursing homes, government agencies, social assistance agencies, and research labs.
• Researchers at the University of Maryland’s School of Nursing found that 55 percent of 2,103 nurses surveyed were obese. Job stress and the effect of irregular work hours was cited as the cause. Irregular breaks to eat (if any at all) also has to be some sort of contributing factor.
• Nurses may be called the “backbone of health care” in Canada and the U.S., but surprisingly it’s at the risk of their own back health. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that nurses report roughly 35,000 back injuries annually.
Nursing back strain stems from diligent, hands on patient care—including pushing and pulling patient beds and wheelchairs, as well as lifting, rolling, bending over, and moving patients frequently.
• The largest demand for licensed practical nurses through 2110 will be in nursing homes. (AJPress)
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