The Origins of the School Nurse
Elizabeth Smith
Rush University
The Origins of the School Nurse
The turn of the twentieth century brought a multitude of concerns to the newly Industrialized New York City. The Industrial Revolution introduced a change in America’s economy from agricultural-based to industrial-based (Vessey & McGowan, 2006). Along with this shift American saw an influx in new jobs and opportunities. Families from places such as Southern and Eastern Europe flocked to America searching for better opportunities (Ruel, 2014). One of the most prominent issues facing the city at the time was the spread of communicable diseases. As immigrants fled into America with no money and no connections they …show more content…
A nursing experiment arose out of a request from the Chairman of New York City Board of Education and the City Health Commissioner (Vessey & McGowan, 2006). The officials called upon the nurse Lillian Wald, a social reformer and inventor of public health nursing, to assist in devising a plan to increase school attendance rates (Vessey & McGowan, 2006). Wald theorized that she could reduce student absenteeism and cases of infectious diseases by sending a nurse into schools to treat contagious diseases through direct care and hygiene instruction (Delack, 2010). The goal of the school nursing experiment was to treat children during school as to prevent them from missing out on their schooling, while educating families on proper hygiene in order to reduce disease …show more content…
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