Women in nursing

Historically, women have made up a large majority of the profession and academic discipline of nursing. Women's nursing roles include both caring for patients and making sure that the wards and equipment are clean. Currently, females make up the majority of the field of nursing. Statistics show that in 2005, "women comprised 92.3% of Registered Nurses (RNs). Additionally, registered nurses are projected to create the second largest number of new jobs among all occupations between 2004 and 2014, increasing by 29.4%."

Nurses in the past were required to work long days and care for many patients, for very little pay. In addition, the typical university setting where nurses learned the work of the trade was not in existence back then. Instead, nurses learned the trade while working in the field. Another difference was that nursing students were called probationers. As probationers, they were required to follow the strict rules and regulations that were set forth by the institution. Additionally, probationers were required to follow all physicians’ orders without question and perform various household duties. After learning how to take orders, probationers were then sent to the operating room for a 6-week rotation. During that 6-week period, probationers learned how to inventory sterile bandages, keep operating room meticulously clean and provide sterile water for surgeons during surgery. Upon completion of their training, probationers turned into nurses.

As nurses, some of their roles included providing patient education concerning nutrition and child related illnesses when needed. In general, nurses were the ones responsible for bathing patients, inserting catheters, dispensing medications, administering enemas, keeping the ward clean, and making sure that everything was documented correctly. During that time, there were no nurses' aides available to help with the daily care of patients. Thusly, all tasks fell upon the nurse. To add to that long list of tasks, a nurse was also responsible for preparing any holistic medications that were needed at the time to treat the various alignments that patients presented with. In the present time, holistic medications are hardly used, and any medications that are required are generally handled and prepared by a pharmacy. This is with the expectation of some intravenous (IV), antibiotics, and insulin preparations that the nurse will prepare on the floor (after receiving an order from a doctor). Listed below are more duties of nurses in these time periods.

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