Significant Historical Trends in the Development of Nursing Knowledge

Nursing Philosophy
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Significant Historical Trends that have shaped the Development of Nursing Knowledge
History of professional nursing and nursing education began with Florence Nightingale, who envisioned nurses as being a body of women who are educated. St. Thomas Hospital was the home of the first nursing school established by Nightingale marking the beginning of modern nursing practice and nursing education (Alligood & Tomey, 2010). Her writings became guidelines for nursing education and practice. The focus of nursing was recognized in the mid-1800s and nursing knowledge was declared to be distinct from medical knowledge. The transition of nursing practice as a vocation to a profession was marked by successive historical eras that transformed the knowledge on which the practice was based (Alligood & Tomey, 2010).
The curriculum era addresses the content that nurses were required to study. The emphasis was placed on the courses to be taken and establishing a standardized curriculum. Diploma programs were established and standardized curriculums adopted by these programs by the mid-1930s. At the same time, the idea of shifting nursing education from diploma programs that were hospital-based to universities and colleges emerged at the time. This was attained during the mid-twentieth century when these programs were closed and being opened in colleges and universities and marked the curriculum era (Alligood & Tomey, 2010). This era placed much emphasis on course selection and the content being taught and ushered in the research era that emphasized on the research process in developing nursing knowledge that would guide practice. It began in mid-nineteenth century as more degrees in higher education were sought by nurses. The nurses acknowledged that research was the way to developing nursing knowledge and courses on research were i...