220829 What's in a Name? Evolution of Public Health Nursing

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM

Sandra B. Lewenson, EdD, RN, FAAN , Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University The College of Health Professions, Pleasantville, NY
Background: After following a young girl to visit her mother lying on a bed of blood stained sheets following the birth of a child, Wald (1915) wrote “that morning's experience was a baptism of fire…On my way from the sick-room to my comfortable student quarters my mind was intent on my own responsibility. To my inexperience it seemed certain that conditions such as these were allowed because people did not know, and for me there was a challenge to know and to tell (Wald, 1915, p. 8). Wald recognized the need to educate both the public and the profession about health care in the community. This care included both the care of the ill and the well person in the community. Over time, terms describing the nurse that provided this care included district nurse, visiting nurse, public health nurse, community health nurse, and home health nurse. As the public health nursing role evolved, so did the nomenclature, leading some to question, “what is a public health nurse? Methods: A historical review of the published public health nursing literature beginning in the late 19th throughout the 20th century was completed. ?” This study examines the history of public health nursing and the educational requirements of this role by exploring the shift in roles as the names changed throughout the late 19th century until today. Results: The changing name reflects a variety of social, political, and economic factors that affected the implementation and focus of the role of the public health nurse. Conclusions: The ability to continue to work in public health, regardless of the term applied to their work, shows the resiliency of public health nurses. Social justice, although challenged by competing factors, remains a common thread of this specialization. Gaining clarity in the evolving role of the public health nurse offers greater opportunity to educate leaders in public health nursing.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
1.Discuss how the changing terminology for public health nurses throughout the late 19th and 20th century influenced the practice and education of public health nurses. 2. Describe relevance of nursing history in public health nursing curriculum.

Keywords: Public Health Nursing, Curricula

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a nurse historian and have recently co-edited a text titled, Public Health Nursing: Practicing Population-Based Care published by Jones & Bartlett. I wrote the chapter on the history of public health nursing. The paper is similar but not the same.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.