History of Registered Nurses

Early Days

Although nurses have existed in some aspect throughout history in nearly every culture, the nursing profession didn't take shape until the early 19th century, when famed nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale and a small staff of nurses helped attend to wounded war veterans. According to Biography.com, Nightingale was credited with improving the condition of patient care during the Crimean War, leading to hospital overhauls and the professionalization of nursing. Nightingale is usually referred to as the founder of modern nursing.

Education

Hospitals held the first nursing classes in the first part of the 1900s. The classes mostly dealt with house chores for a few years, before moving up to teach such skills as how to sterilize medical equipment and to provide minor first-aid care. That was the norm for the profession until the start of World War II,when professional nurses became responsible for direct aid to the wounded for the first time in nursing's decades-long history. The profession flourished during the war and gained support from the medical community.

Changes

During America's economic boom following the WWII, the demand for nursing increased, leading government officials to require more stringent educational standards for potential nursing students. That led many colleges and universities to implement their own nursing programs. A division soon emerged in the nursing profession, leading to a distinction between Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and the more advanced Registered Nurses (RN), whose licensing requirements varied by state.

Divisions

As set forth by the post-war education standards, RNs require more training than LPNs, although each received the same basic medical education. RNs are allowed more freedom to make medical decisions and supervise other nursing staff. Registered Nursing came to the forefront of the medical community in the 1980s, and today RNs have many career opportunities, from working in hospitals and clinics to working as traveling nurses or in highly specialized disciplines within healthcare.

Registered Nursing Today

Modern times sees a high demand for nurses, and traveling RNs have become a hot commodity in the medical job market; they work relatively short-term contracts (usually a few months) at hospitals with nursing shortages.

Due to the extent of their education, many RNs now have the ability to specialize in many areas of medicine, such as pediatrics or acute care in hospital or clinical settings or in public schools or prisons, to name a few. RNs also can work as flight nurses on medical helicopters.

With advanced training (and usually a Master's Degree), RNs can work as assistants to anesthesiologists or advance to work as nurse practitioners.