HISTORY OF NURSING IN THE PHILIPPINES
1. Describe the evolution of nursing and nursing education. How (does it) and what are
its impact/s on health education?
- Nursing is a profession that can be traced back from ancient times up until this day where it has
come a long way as it continues to grow and diversify. During ancient times nursing was not
viewed as a job, it’s seen as more of a vocation, a calling, a frame of mind, and a desire of the
heart. To describe the evolution of nursing and nursing education we will be taking a look into
the four periods of nursing history; Intuitive, Apprentice, Educative and Contemporary. Intuitive
Nursing is the period of nursing that was during the pre-historic times. During this time nursing
was untaught, it was merely based on instincts and is said to be a function that belonged to
women as it was said that it’s a natural nurturing responsibility of women to take good care of
the children, the sick, and the aged. People believed that illness was caused by the invasion of an
evil spirit on the victim's body through the use of "black magic", "voodoo" or what is known in
the Philippines as “kulam”. Hence the people call "SHAMAN" or "witch doctor" (albularyo) to
heal their illness. It was also believed that by drilling a hole on the victim's skull (Trephination)
the evil spirits and all the bad elements that are said to be the cause of the illness will be
released. Following the period of Intuitive Nursing is the Period of Apprentice Nursing where
care was done by crusaders, prisoners, and religious orders. During this period nursing care was
performed without any formal education and by people who were directed by more experienced
nurses. After the Period of Apprentice Nursing comes the Period of Educated Nursing. The
development of nursing during this time is highly influenced by the trends resulting from wars,
social consciousness, and increased educational opportunities. This is the period where nursing
evolved both as an art and science, moreover, this is the time where formal nursing education
and nursing service begun. Lastly, we have the emergence of the Contemporary Period of
Nursing where Licensure of Nurses started, Specialization of Hospital and diagnosis, Training of
Nurses in Diploma Program, Development of baccalaureate and advance degree programs,
Scientific and technological development, as well as social changes, marks this period. This
evolution of nursing and nursing education impacts health education in a way that it provided an
avenue for health practitioners to improve health education and its delivery in a way that is
responsive to the needs of the community, and adaptive to the changes of time.
2. How has this historical foundation affected or influenced the current nursing practice
today especially on the aspect of health education?
- Being members of the healthcare team, nurses and the nursing profession itself plays a vital
role on the aspect of health education. The evolution in the field of nursing helped increase the
efficiency of medical care as it paved the way for the emergence of more training programs,
higher education, better hospitals, more responsibility and increased patient-focused
care. If we try to look at the definition of Health Education released by World Health
Organization (WHO) it is defined as any combination of learning experiences designed
to help individuals and communities improve their health, by increasing their knowledge
or influencing their attitudes. Considering the result of nursing evolution and the
definition of Health Education, we can say that nurses being at the forefront of change in
healthcare and as someone who interacts with patient they play a vital role in delivering
the right information, educating people about healthy lifestyle and debunking myths that
may be detrimental or may worsen the patient’s condition. Thus, the evolution of the
nursing profession allows for the system to release nurses who are equipped with the
needed skills and the right knowledge which is essential to help people learn how to
behave in a manner conducive to promotion, maintenance and restoration of health
which is the goal of health education.
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3. How do you envision health education 10-20 years from now?
-
I envision health education 10-20 years from now thriving with technological improvements.
Through the use of social media and online platforms such as blogs, online assessment tools,
websites and many more health education can reach a much wider and diverse audience. For
example, the continuous improvement and increase in the number of people using telehealth, it
allows consumers of health services to be more involved in terms of monitoring their health and
it also enable high-quality of communication and enhance relationship between patient and the
concerned healthcare personnel which is one of the factors that affects health education.
Another factor that will enhance as technology evolves is gathering of information and data can
be done faster, thus keeping track and identifying the trend of a particular disease or disorder
can be identify earlier, and when this trends are identified earlier this can help in formulating
health education that targets to prevent the spread or to decrease the mortality rate of a
particular disease. I believe that in 10-20 years from now health education will be accessible as
information is widely distributed. This accessibility of information concerning health can help in
planning for actions or programs that caters what the situation calls for and health teaching that
is tailored for the community in a manner that is adaptive and responsive. However, amidst the
benefit of the technological improvements and accessibility to information brings concerning
health education, I also believe that we need to enhance health literacy, so that people will be
able to filter information that that they find on the internet whether the sources are credible or
not, whether the information is supported by research or evidences, say for example just like
what is happening right now concerning the Covid-19 vaccine, a lot of information can be found
in the internet yet not all of these is credible and some of the hoax that is widely spread causes
fears. In conclusion, I do envision health education in the future as accessible however we need
to be firm in implementing measures that would promote health literacy to avoid
misinformation.
REFERENCES:
Abalos, E. E. (2013, August 4). Definitions of nursing. Silliman
University. https://su.edu.ph/940-definitions-of-nursing
Health education. (2012). Giving What We Can Community: Give More, Give More Effectively ·
Giving What We Can. https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/research/other-causes/healtheducation/
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