The greatest change in the development of medicine has been in nursing. The term 'nurse' has many meanings one of them being ' one who is trained to care of sick esp. under the supervision of a physician'(Webster's). It started out as such, including cleaning the ward, washing the patient and taking care of the furnace then added on the role of giving prescribed medicine to the patient. Then helping in any capacity e.g. in the operating room.
Not long ago it transformed into a formalized category of Practical nurse who did all the work of a nurse except for giving medicines. Schools were organized for a two year training after high school to become a Registered nurse (R.N.) who could administer medicine. All other treatments were done by a doctor. Then soon in the early1960's intra muscular injections ere given by them. After the 1960's more and more things done by the doctor in training was ceded to the R.N. Now they drew blood for testing started intravenous inj. passed tubes and catheters as this was now considered 'scut' work by doctors. They then branched out into assisting in surgery and anesthesia. The started to give simple anesthesia under the supervision of an anesthesiologist, after a short course and training and were called anesthetists.
In the seventies and eighties of the last century as doctors ceded more and more responsibility of direct patient care nurses took over. There were now PhD in nursing programs and training as physicians assistants then Nurse Practitioner and advanced nurse practitioner. There was more and more push to practice independently, with taking over more and more of what the physician had done or was doing. All this while the physicians were happy to cede as they specialized. The family M.D. and G.P. were the one's to feel the gradual encroachment on their domain. There were articles in prestigious medical journals with nursing demanding more and a few feeble attempts to save their turf, by doctors. Now nurses practice independently. They are in charge of operating rooms, surgi-centers, medical departments of insurance companies and C.E. O.'s of hospitals, give lectures at physician's medical meetings and courses. During all this transformation more and more men started to go into nursing. So the term 'nurse' which evoked the image of a woman no longer does so. I have always wondered -'Why go through such a circuitous route to be nearly a physician? Wouldn't it be easier just to go to medical school and be a doctor?
