Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Patriotism in Nursing: Lillian Wald-Appears in You Tube™ Video
While finalizing research for this blog, I discovered a You Tube™ video describing the historic acts of patriotism in nursing. The video introduces several nurses from the past and their contributions to society, especially during times of war. The link to the video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETGimIeTeis I hope you enjoy!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Lillian Wald-How Nursing Differs Today From Nursing in Wald's Time
There are a number of changes that have taken place since Lillian Wald’s time. Probably the most recognizable change is the extensive use of "futuristic technology" (Tamani, 2007). Advancements in technology have changed the face of nursing as well as modern healthcare overall. Electronic charting at the patient’s bedside is quickly taking the place of manual documentation and data collection. Technology has changed the delivery of nursing treatments, documentation of care, research, and communication with patients and other nurses. Nurses, using technology, communicate with nursing colleagues and other healthcare providers with ease, rather than handwritten letters back and forth through the mail as Wald and the nurses of her time were required to do in order to communicate. And most would agree that nurses do not look the same as the nurses of Wald’s time. Gone is the era of spotless white uniforms, nursing caps, and long black capes. Trendy, colorful scrubs are the nursing uniform of today (Tamani, 2007).
While there are several changes that have taken place since Wald’s time, there are themes and practices that have remained the same. Nursing continues to be difficult to define, but remains about caring for others and making a difference in the health of communities. Public health nurses of today still provide health education for the public and consider this practice essential to the improvement of health and prevention of illness. The roles that nurses filled in Wald’s time are still fulfilled by nurses today: “educator, caregiver, and casemanager” (Abrams, 2008). “Lillian Wald believed that cure by nurses mandated treatment of social and economic problems, not just illness” (Buhler-Wilkerson, 2001). Today, this belief still has merit, not only among public health nurses, but all nurses who value the holistic approach to nursing. Also unchanged, in this nurses opinion, are the themes in public health nursing in Wald’s time and those of public health nursing today: “helping families and communities overcome barriers to health, collaboration and cooperation among disciplines, and building an organic relationship with clients and communities” (Abrams, 2008).
References
Abrams, S. E. (2008). The best of public health nursing, circa 1941. Public Health Nursing, 25(3), 285-291.
Buhler-Wilkinson, K. (2001). No place like home. A history of nursing and home care in the United States. Baltimore, MD:Johns Hopkins University Press.
Tamani, M. (2007). Changes in nursing uniforms over the century. Retrieved June 25, 2009, from http://articlesbase.com/health-articles/changes-in-nursing-uniforms-over-the-century-242084.html.
While there are several changes that have taken place since Wald’s time, there are themes and practices that have remained the same. Nursing continues to be difficult to define, but remains about caring for others and making a difference in the health of communities. Public health nurses of today still provide health education for the public and consider this practice essential to the improvement of health and prevention of illness. The roles that nurses filled in Wald’s time are still fulfilled by nurses today: “educator, caregiver, and casemanager” (Abrams, 2008). “Lillian Wald believed that cure by nurses mandated treatment of social and economic problems, not just illness” (Buhler-Wilkerson, 2001). Today, this belief still has merit, not only among public health nurses, but all nurses who value the holistic approach to nursing. Also unchanged, in this nurses opinion, are the themes in public health nursing in Wald’s time and those of public health nursing today: “helping families and communities overcome barriers to health, collaboration and cooperation among disciplines, and building an organic relationship with clients and communities” (Abrams, 2008).
References
Abrams, S. E. (2008). The best of public health nursing, circa 1941. Public Health Nursing, 25(3), 285-291.
Buhler-Wilkinson, K. (2001). No place like home. A history of nursing and home care in the United States. Baltimore, MD:Johns Hopkins University Press.
Tamani, M. (2007). Changes in nursing uniforms over the century. Retrieved June 25, 2009, from http://articlesbase.com/health-articles/changes-in-nursing-uniforms-over-the-century-242084.html.
Lillian Wald-The Writer
Lillian Wald authored two autobiographical books about the life and her work on the Lower East Side of New York. The first book is entitled The House on Henry Street (1915) and the second, which she wrote after retiring is Windows on Henry Street (1934).
References
Wald, L. D. (1915). The house on Henry Street. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Wald, L. D. (1934). Windows on Henry Street. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
References
Wald, L. D. (1915). The house on Henry Street. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Wald, L. D. (1934). Windows on Henry Street. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
Lillian Wald-Educational Background
Lillian Wald was born into a family that had the financial means to send her to private boarding school. She graduated from the Miss Cruttenden's English-French Boarding and Day School for Young Ladies, at the age of 15. Wald then tried to enter Vassar College but was denied, because the school thought her to be too young, at 16 (Feld, 2009).
She traveled the world with friends for about six years, even working as a newspaper reporter some of the time (National Association for Home Care & Hospice, n.d.). Upon returning home, and still interested in nursing, Wald enrolled in the nursing program of the New York Hospital's training school.
In 1892, Wald entered Women's Medical College to study medicine, but left school in 1893, after visiting the poor living in the Lower East Side of New York. She felt the residents of this area were priority and desperately needed nursing services. She never returned to medical school (Feld, 2009).
References
Feld, M. N. (2009). Lillian D. Wald. Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved June 29, 2009 from http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/wald-lillian-d.
National Association for Home Care & Hospice. (n.d.). Caring profiles: Lillian D. Wald. Retrieved July 7, 2006 from http://nach.org/NACH/Val/Columns/SC10-4.html.
She traveled the world with friends for about six years, even working as a newspaper reporter some of the time (National Association for Home Care & Hospice, n.d.). Upon returning home, and still interested in nursing, Wald enrolled in the nursing program of the New York Hospital's training school.
In 1892, Wald entered Women's Medical College to study medicine, but left school in 1893, after visiting the poor living in the Lower East Side of New York. She felt the residents of this area were priority and desperately needed nursing services. She never returned to medical school (Feld, 2009).
References
Feld, M. N. (2009). Lillian D. Wald. Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved June 29, 2009 from http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/wald-lillian-d.
National Association for Home Care & Hospice. (n.d.). Caring profiles: Lillian D. Wald. Retrieved July 7, 2006 from http://nach.org/NACH/Val/Columns/SC10-4.html.
Lillian Wald-Contribution to Nursing Education
Lillian Wald not only contributed to society and to the profession of nursing by inventing public health nursing, but also by her influence on nursing education. In 1902, Wald established the first school of nursing in the United States. Wald also co-founded the National Organization for Public Health Nursing, which as a professional nursing association, established standards for public health nursing practice and the education of public health nurses. According to the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Wald is the reason that most "nursing education takes place in universities, augmented by practical experience in teaching hospitals" (National Association for Home Care & Hospice, n.d.).
Reference
National Association for Home Care & Hospice. (n.d.). Caring profiles: Lillian D. Wald. Retrieved July 7, 2006 from http://nahc.org/NAHC/Val/Columns/SC10-4.html.
Reference
National Association for Home Care & Hospice. (n.d.). Caring profiles: Lillian D. Wald. Retrieved July 7, 2006 from http://nahc.org/NAHC/Val/Columns/SC10-4.html.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Lillian Wald-Impetus for Involvement in Nursing and Role in Nursing History
The more I read about Lillian Wald, the more fascinated I become with her career in nursing and her humanitarian accomplishments. She was a very influential leader of social reform and "tireless advocate for women and children" ("About our Founder," n.d.). She is probably best known for pioneering the concept of public health nursing by placing nurses in public schools and founding the Visiting Nurse Service and the Henry Street Settlement in New York, which are now separate institutions, and both still serving the community today ("Women Who Nurse," 1940, October).
Lillian Wald was born March 10, 1867, to Max and Minne Wald of Cincinnati, OH. She was born into a life of privilege. Her German-Jewish family moved to New York where Wald attended a private boarding school for girls (Brody, 1996).
Young Wald attended the birth of her sister's child, and observed the care provided by a private nurse for her sister. Wald was inspired by the serious nature of the nurse's work. It is at this point that she became interested in nursing. Her interest persisted and at the age of 22, she enrolled in the New York Hospital Training School ("Becomes a Nurse", n.d.).
Upon graduation, Wald worked in an institution for orphans. She was upset by the methods used in institutions, and she wanted to change things ("Becomes a Nurse," n.d.). Wald moved to Manhattan and began visiting women and children living in poverty on the Lower East Side as part of an assignment she was working on for a graduate course. Wald was again upset over the miserable living conditions. She then decided to dedicate her life's work to providing care for the poverty stricken immigrants living in the tenement community. Wald soon decided to move into the area so that she could be a visiting nurse there, while also educating the mothers about hygiene and preventive health measures (Brody, 1996).
In 1893, Wald founded the Nurse's Settlement, which later became the Henry Street Settlement House. She began to get financial support from sponsors who saw the importance of her work and soon won the confidence of the community. As the number of her patients increased, she had to hire more staff. By 1913, her staff had grown to 92 visiting nurses ("Public School Programs," n.d.).
While visiting in the homes of the tenement community, Wald noticed the number of children absent from school due to illness. She had the idea of placing one of her visiting public health nurses in a public school. She pressured the school system until she succeeded in 1902, when Lina L. Rogers was hired as New York City's first public school nurse ("Public School Programs," n.d.). The placement of this nurse was so successful in reducing absenteeism, the New York Board of Health took notice. The next month, after hiring a fleet of twelve more school nurses, the New York Board of Health established the first public nursing system in the world (Brody, 1996).
Being a school nurse myself, Wald's accomplishment of convincing the New York City School System to hire a nurse in a school is more than interesting to me, it is my heritage. I love reading about the impact Wald made on the health and educational success of school children. I think it most interesting that after succeeding in convincing the school system to hire a public health nurse, Wald did not stop there. She went on to advocate for free school lunches and for special education services for children with learning disabilities and physical handicaps. She believed all children could benefit from a public school education. Because of her efforts, New York Public Schools established the first Department of Special Education. Her efforts in public schools established access to adequate health care, nutrition, and special education services for all children ("Public School Programs," n.d.). Her impact on the communities she personally served, and on public health nursing overall is beyond measure.
References
Brody, S. (1996). Lillian Wald. Jewish heroes and heroines: 150 true stories of American Jewish heroism. Hollywood, FL: Lifetime Books, Inc.
Henry Street Settlement. (n.d.) About our founder. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.henrystreet.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_lwald.
Jewish Women's Archive. (n.d.) Lillian Wald: Becomes a nurse. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from https://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/wald/lw2.html.
Jewish Women's Archive. (n.d.) Lillian Wald: Public school programs. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from https://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/wald/lw6.html.
Women who nurse: Lillian Wald, R.N. (1940, October). RN. Retrieved June 24, 2009 from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
Lillian Wald was born March 10, 1867, to Max and Minne Wald of Cincinnati, OH. She was born into a life of privilege. Her German-Jewish family moved to New York where Wald attended a private boarding school for girls (Brody, 1996).
Young Wald attended the birth of her sister's child, and observed the care provided by a private nurse for her sister. Wald was inspired by the serious nature of the nurse's work. It is at this point that she became interested in nursing. Her interest persisted and at the age of 22, she enrolled in the New York Hospital Training School ("Becomes a Nurse", n.d.).
Upon graduation, Wald worked in an institution for orphans. She was upset by the methods used in institutions, and she wanted to change things ("Becomes a Nurse," n.d.). Wald moved to Manhattan and began visiting women and children living in poverty on the Lower East Side as part of an assignment she was working on for a graduate course. Wald was again upset over the miserable living conditions. She then decided to dedicate her life's work to providing care for the poverty stricken immigrants living in the tenement community. Wald soon decided to move into the area so that she could be a visiting nurse there, while also educating the mothers about hygiene and preventive health measures (Brody, 1996).
In 1893, Wald founded the Nurse's Settlement, which later became the Henry Street Settlement House. She began to get financial support from sponsors who saw the importance of her work and soon won the confidence of the community. As the number of her patients increased, she had to hire more staff. By 1913, her staff had grown to 92 visiting nurses ("Public School Programs," n.d.).
While visiting in the homes of the tenement community, Wald noticed the number of children absent from school due to illness. She had the idea of placing one of her visiting public health nurses in a public school. She pressured the school system until she succeeded in 1902, when Lina L. Rogers was hired as New York City's first public school nurse ("Public School Programs," n.d.). The placement of this nurse was so successful in reducing absenteeism, the New York Board of Health took notice. The next month, after hiring a fleet of twelve more school nurses, the New York Board of Health established the first public nursing system in the world (Brody, 1996).
Being a school nurse myself, Wald's accomplishment of convincing the New York City School System to hire a nurse in a school is more than interesting to me, it is my heritage. I love reading about the impact Wald made on the health and educational success of school children. I think it most interesting that after succeeding in convincing the school system to hire a public health nurse, Wald did not stop there. She went on to advocate for free school lunches and for special education services for children with learning disabilities and physical handicaps. She believed all children could benefit from a public school education. Because of her efforts, New York Public Schools established the first Department of Special Education. Her efforts in public schools established access to adequate health care, nutrition, and special education services for all children ("Public School Programs," n.d.). Her impact on the communities she personally served, and on public health nursing overall is beyond measure.
References
Brody, S. (1996). Lillian Wald. Jewish heroes and heroines: 150 true stories of American Jewish heroism. Hollywood, FL: Lifetime Books, Inc.
Henry Street Settlement. (n.d.) About our founder. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.henrystreet.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_lwald.
Jewish Women's Archive. (n.d.) Lillian Wald: Becomes a nurse. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from https://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/wald/lw2.html.
Jewish Women's Archive. (n.d.) Lillian Wald: Public school programs. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from https://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/wald/lw6.html.
Women who nurse: Lillian Wald, R.N. (1940, October). RN. Retrieved June 24, 2009 from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Research in Progress
Lillian Wald was a very influential member of society. Her influence on public policy and the profession of nursing are well documented and impressive. I have located several reputable resources with historical information about Lillian Wald and her contribution to the profession of nursing. At this time, I am reading and cataloging my references. I will have more information about Wald and her work in public health in following blogs. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Learning to Blog
As part of an assignment towards completion of my MSN degree, my instructor has given the option of creating a blog. I am choosing this assignment option because I love to write, love technology, and have had a desire to learn more about blogging. While learning to blog, I will be working towards completion of the assigment, will be learning from my research of the assigned topic, and I will also be learning a new technical skill.
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