Orientation to Nursing History, Healthcare Systems & Wellness

A comprehensive set of 50 question-and-answer flashcards covering historical developments, key nursing leaders, educational milestones, legal concepts, healthcare systems, wellness models, stress, coping and current public-health goals to aid exam preparation.

What is the modern definition of nursing?

The art and science of promoting, restoring and maintaining clients’ health, focusing on the client’s response to illness rather than the illness itself.

From which Latin word is “nursing” derived and what does it mean?

It comes from the Latin word meaning “to nourish,” reflecting the nurse’s role in fostering health.

In early civilizations, who was believed to cause illness and who kept disease away?

Evil spirits were thought to cause illness, while good spirits were believed to keep disease away.

Who provided most medical care in Babylonian society and what was women’s status in nursing there?

Laymen (usually men) provided medical service; only women of low status provided nursing care.

Name two public-health practices of the Ancient Hebrews that limited communicable disease.

Burning infected garments and isolating ill persons (they also scrubbed homes).

Which ancient civilization established hospitals staffed by male attendants noted for purity and kindness?

Ancient India.

What two medical skills were Ancient Egyptians particularly known for?

Treating fractures and performing embalming (surgery and drug use as well).

How did Ancient Greece promote health around 500 BC?

By building temples that served as hospitals with spas, mineral springs, bath gymnasiums, and treatment rooms.

Why is Hippocrates called the “Father of Medicine”?

He rejected supernatural causes of disease, used systematic observation/record-keeping, and inspired the Hippocratic Oath and holistic care.

Who is considered one of the first visiting nurses in the Christian era?

St. Phoebe (AD 60).

What conditions characterized most 19th-century hospitals before Nightingale’s reforms?

Overcrowding, poor hygiene, unchecked infection and dirty physical conditions.

Where did Florence Nightingale receive formal training before the Crimean War?

The Lutheran Order of Deaconesses in Kaiserwerth, Germany (1851).

List three key sanitary measures Nightingale implemented during the Crimean War.

Cleaning wards, providing clean clothes/linen, improving nutrition, installing proper ventilation and keeping records (any three).

What is the international symbol of nursing and why?

The lamp, honoring Nightingale’s nightly rounds—leading to the title “Lady with the Lamp.”

What school did Florence Nightingale establish in 1860 and why is it significant?

St. Thomas’ School of Nursing in London—the first to combine formal instruction with supervised practice and to keep a registry of graduates.

Differentiate an occupation from a profession, per Nightingale.

Occupation: an activity or position one holds; Profession: a calling requiring specialized knowledge and intensive academic preparation.

What was the first Protestant hospital in the United States and who founded it?

The Pittsburgh Infirmary (now UPMC Passavant), founded in 1849 by Pastor Theodore Fliedner and deaconesses.

Name the first three U.S. nursing schools based on the Nightingale Plan and their start dates.

Bellevue Hospital School (May 1873, NY), Connecticut Training School (Oct 1873, New Haven), Boston Training School at Mass General (Nov 1873, Boston).

Who organized the first graded system of nursing theory and practice and helped found AJN?

Isabel Hampton Robb.

What humanitarian founded the American Red Cross in 1881?

Clara Barton.

Who was America’s first professionally trained African-American nurse?

Mary Mahoney (graduated 1879).

Identify the founder of public health nursing in the United States.

Lillian Wald.

Which nurse introduced rural midwifery services through the Frontier Nursing Service?

Mary Breckinridge.

What federally funded program was created in WWII to rapidly train nurses?

The Cadet Nurse Corps (1943).

Which four states passed the first nursing licensure laws in 1903?

North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia and New York.

What major 1965 ANA recommendation changed nursing education?

That basic nursing education occur in institutions of higher learning, shifting from “training” to “education.”

Define accreditation in nursing education.

A voluntary peer-review process evaluating a program’s compliance with standards that are usually higher than state requirements.

What is articulation in nursing programs?

Agreements allowing LPN/LVN to RN or RN to BSN students to receive credit and avoid duplicate course work.

What legal document defines LVN/LPN roles and licensure requirements?

The Nurse Practice Act of each state.

Who founded the National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses (NFLPN) and when?

Lillian Kuster in 1949.

According to role differentiation, who performs the initial nursing assessment?

The Registered Nurse (RN).

Define a health care system.

A complete network of agencies, facilities and providers delivering health services to a defined population.

Provide the textbook definition of wellness.

A dynamic state in which an individual moves toward a higher level of functioning, balancing internal and external environments.

Contrast acute illness with chronic illness.

Acute: sudden onset, short duration (e.g., intestinal flu); Chronic: slow onset, persists for life (e.g., diabetes).

What characterizes a terminal illness?

An active, progressive disease that cannot be cured and is expected to result in death (e.g., advanced cancer).

Name the five factors considered in holistic health care.

Physical, emotional, spiritual, economic and social factors.

List Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from lowest to highest.

Physiological, Safety & Security, Love/Belonging, Esteem, Self-Actualization.

Give three examples of physiological needs.

Breathing (oxygen), food, water, sleep, elimination, temperature regulation, etc.

What are two key components of safety and security needs?

Protection/stability and freedom from fear or anxiety.

State two characteristics of self-actualized individuals.

Realistic, creative, problem-solving, accepting of facts, moral, spontaneous, etc.

What did Erik Erikson conclude about human development?

That it is greatly influenced by social relationships, leading to his eight stages of psychosocial development.

How does the World Health Organization (1946) define health?

A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Provide Hans Selye’s definition of stress.

The non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it.

Differentiate distress from eustress.

Distress: harmful, negative stress; Eustress: positive, beneficial stress related to desirable events.

Define adaptation in the context of health.

The ability of an individual to adjust to changing situations.

Give three common coping mechanisms people use to reduce anxiety.

Talking with someone, exercising, overeating, smoking, pacing, listening to music, etc.

What is displacement as a defense mechanism?

Shifting an intended action or emotion onto a safer, substitute target.

State the primary goal of Healthy People 2025.

To increase quality of life and life expectancy for individuals of all ages in the United States.

What is one major nursing role in health promotion?

Educating patients to make informed choices about healthy lifestyles and use of health services.

Why are caps, pins and the ceremonial lamp important in nursing?

They provide visual identification, symbolize achievement, and honor Nightingale’s legacy.