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Nurse in the Course of Time - the History of the Nursing Profession in the Czech Lands
KOPULETÁ, Martina
The aim of this thesis is to map the historic development of the nursing profession in Czech nursing from the past to the present. The Bachelor thesis is composed purely theoretically. The development of nursing profession is described in its important millstones. To gain information, it was necessary to peruse a considerable amount of bibliographic publications, research papers and internet sources. Further off the theoretical part was enhanced by memories of former nurses who used to work at hospitals after the World War Two and during the communist regime. The nursing profession has being formed since time immemorial and this process still continues. Wars, social and political situation, scientific progress and new knowledge in medicine had a great impact on the foundation of nursing. The nursing profession had to go through a very long, winding and sometimes even thorny journey to get the position of independent scientific discipline, as it is nowadays. The nursing profession routs of in the past. First part of the thesis deals with nursing in the period of the early Middle Ages and describes its first two stages. First stage in nursing dealt with lay nursing care which was performed by family members in their homes. Second stage, charitable nursing, came along with faith in God and Jesus Christ. The church caretakers tended the poorest and needy people in hospitals and poorhouses. A great development in nursing, that also means nursing profession and medicine, was during Crimean War. This period is known as third stage of nursing activity that is the organised nursing. We owe it to Florence Nightingale, Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov and Jean Henry Dunant. These personalities of world nursing gave the nursing profession solid foundation and order. Next part deals with acquisition of professional skills. The origins of nursing education in this country were significantly influenced by emancipation movements in 19th century led by Eliška Krásnohorská and Karolína Světlá who fought for women's rights and education for women. We have to be grateful to these women for establishment of the first nursing school in Austria-Hungary which was founded in 1874 in Prague. The nursing profession gained importance by foundation of this school and professional aiming education of nurses started being to be formulated. During the time until the World War Two it was mainly members of religious orders who cared about the ill in our hospitals. Nursing education was procured by Česká zemská škola pro ošetřování nemocných before the establishment of Czechoslovakia. At the beginning of the First Czechoslovak Republic civil nurses and graduate nurses were gradually integrated into hospitals where they most frequently hold the position of nurses in charge. Further the Bachelor thesis is about social and working conditions of nurses at ward. The conditions, in which the patients were hospitalized, are described as well.Nursing profession in the course of World War Two (1939 - 1945) monitored a specific development. Nuns had to leave hospitals and were replaced by German caretakers. After the war German doctors and nurses were displaced back to Germany. This unfavourable situation was solved by the return of religious orders, but it did not last long. In the 1950´s they had to leave hospitals again and definitively forever.The bachelor thesis further describes the 1990´s which are the years of enhancing the quality of nursing care and led to gradual gaining of independence in the field of nursing.Finally, personalities of Czech nursing care that anyhow, mainly by their work, contributed to the establishment and development of nursing profession are mentioned at the end of the bachelor thesis.
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