I do a lot of research for my Nursing Jobs.org columns.

This was a gem of a find!

Think nursing history is boring? Take a look at this “mission statement”:

“…Nursing history is not an ornament to be displayed on anniversary days, nor does it consist of only happy stories to be recalled and retold on special occasions. Nursing history is a vivid testamony, meant to incite, instruct and inspire today’s nurses as they bravely trod the winding path of a reinvented health care system.”

They had me at “Welcome!”

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The most interesting aspect of the Association was their position on the place of nursing history in all levels of nursing education/curricula. At the undergraduate and masters level, it should be integrated into existing courses. At the doctoral level, it is believed an actual history of nursing course should be required. This would be based on the “advanced scholarship of nursing historians” and utilize “sound historical research methods.”

Sounds rather…well…academic, yes?

Not when you realize there is a large focus on which technical elements should be highlighted in nursing education, yet today’s nurses are required to be critical thinkers. Nursing is less black and white, more ambiguous. We have to be ready for that.

How does nursing history help us prepare for what we face in the 21st century?

Societal pressures have always shaped the profession; it is no less so today. Having an insight into challenges met in previous generations helps us understand and cope with the pressures of today. Epidemics were dealt with in the past, TB is a problem again today. There is a nursing shortage today - and it isn’t the first. How were these problems handled before. What can we learn from those who already worked through these issues?

Studying our forebears gives us a sense of heritage and identity as a profession. It also helps mitigate what is called “positivisitic” research - the belief that only objective data is valued. Anyone in the nursing profession knows that much of what we do cannot be quantified. When we understand the history behind the knowledge development of nursing, we can see the whole picture, both positivistic research and that which is not quantifiable.

We can appreciate them both as contributing to nursing - defining who we are and what we do.

Learn a technical skill and you have been “trained”. Nursing history gives us a shared identity and context.

Nursing history can help provide an “education”.

And my favorite saying is “Nurses are not trained, they are educated”!

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For further information, including information and benefits of joining the AAHN, visit their website at: http://www.aahn.org/

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Reference: American Association For The History Of Nursing. (21). Position paper: nursing history in the curriculum: preparing nurses for the 21st century. Retrieved June 17, 2007, from http://www.aahn.org/position.html