HISTORY OF NURSING

1. PERIOD OF INTUITIVE NURSING

Beliefs and Practices of Prehistoric Man
He was nomad. His philosophy of life was
the best for the most and he was ruled
by the law of self-preservation.
Nursing was a function that belonged to
women
Believed that illness was caused by
invasion of evil spirit
Believed that medicine man called
shaman or witch doctor had the power to
heal by using white magic. Practices
trephining (drilling a hole in the skull with
a stone or rock without anesthesia as a
last resort to drive evil spirit from the body.

Nursing in the Near East

Mans

mode of living changed from nomadic

style to an agrarian society to an urban
community life.
Developed a means of communication and
the beginnings of a body of scientific
knowledge
Nursing remained the duty of slaves, wives,
sister or mother
The care of the sick was still closely related
to religion, superstition and magic.
Contribution to Medicine and Nursing:
Babylonia
Code of Hammurabi: Provided laws that
covered every facet of Babylonian life
including medical practice.
Egypt
Egyptians introduced the art of embalming
which enhance their knowledge of human
anatomy.
Israel
Moses Father of Sanitation
He wrote the five book of the Old
Testament which:
Emphasized the practice of
hospitality to strangers and acts of
charity.
Promulgated laws of control on the
spread of communicable disease
and the ritual of male circumcision.

Nursing in the Far East

China
Strongly believed in spirits and demons.
Prohibition of dissecting the dead human
body.
Give the world knowledge of material
medica which prescribed methods of
treating wounds, infection and muscular
afflictions.
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Prepared by Geraldine Ridad, RN, MAN(CAR)Page 1

India
Men of medicine built hospitals, practiced
an intuitive form of asepsis and were
proficient in the practice of medicine and
surgery.
Sushurutu made a list of function and
qualifications of nurses.
Greece
Nursing was the task of untrained slave
Introduced the caduceus
Hippocrates, Father of Scientific
Medicine
Rome
Attempted to maintain vigorous health,
because illness was a sign of weakness.
Care of the ill was left to the slaves or
Greek physician.
Fabiola, made her home the first hospital
in the Christian world.

2.
PERIOD
NURSING

OF

APPRENTICE

Periods extends from the founding

of religious nursing orders in The

Crusades and establishment of
Kaiserwerth Institute for the Training of
Deaconesses.
It is called the period of on the job
training. Nursing care was performed
without any formal education and by
people who were directed by more
experienced nurses.
Military Religious Orders:
Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem
Teutonic Knights, tent hospital
for wounded
Knights of St. Lazarus, nursing
care for lepers
Rise of Secular Orders,
Order of St. Francis of Assisi
The Bequines
The Oblates
Benedictines
Ursulines
Augustinians
Hospitals
were
poorly
ventilated and the beds
were filthy.
Overcrowding of patients
Practice of environmental
sanitation and asepsis were
non-existent.
Older nuns prayed with and
took good care of the sick;
while the younger nuns
washed soiled linens.

 Important Nursing Personage During

The Period of Apprentice:
St. Claire
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Patroness of Nurses
St. Catherine of Siena First
Lady with a Lamp

3. DARK PERIOD OF NURSING

The religious upheaval led by Martin
Luther destroyed the unity of the
Christian faith.
The wrath of Protestantism swept
away everything connected with
Roman Catholicism.
Hundreds of hospitals were
closed
There were no provisions for
the sick, no one to care for the
sick.
Nursing become the work of
the least desirable women.
Several Leaders Sought to Bring
Reforms:
John Howard
Mother Mary Aikenhand
Pastor Theodor Fliedner and
Frederika Munster Fliedner,
established the Institute for
Training of Deaconesses at
Kaiserwerth, Germany. The
first organized training school
for nurses.

Nursing in America
Jeanne Mance, the first laywoman
who worked as a nurse in North
America. She founded the Hotel Dieu
of Montreal, a log cabin hospitals.
Mrs. Elizabeth Seton, founded the
Sister of Charity of Emmitsberg,
Maryland.
American Reforms in Nursing
The
Nurses
Society
of
Philadelphia
organized
a
school of nursing under the
direction
of
Dr.
Joseph
Warrington.
Nurses
were
trained on the job and attended
some preparatory courses.
Womens
Hospital
in
Philadelphia, established a six
month course in nursing.
Nursing During the Civil War
The American Medical Associa
during the Civil War created
the Committee on Training of
Nurses.
Dorothea Dix established the
Nurse Corps of the United
States Army.
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Clara Barton founded

American Red Cross.

the

4. PERIOD OF EDUCATED NURSING

This period began on June 15, 1860
when the Florence Nightingale School
of Nursing opened at St. Thomas
Hospital in London (St.Thomas
Hospital School of Nursing).
Facts About Florence Nightingale:
Recognized as the Mother of
Modern Nursing
Also known as the Lady with a
Lamp
Born on May 12, 1820 in Florence
Italy
Not contented with the social
custom imposed upon her as a
Victorian Lady, she developed her
self-appointed goal: To change
the profile of nursing
Compiled notes of her visits to
hospitals, her observation of the
sanitary facilities and social
problems of the places she visited.
Advocated for care of those
afflicted with disease caused by
lack of hygienic practices.
At the age of 31, she overcomes
her familys resistance to her
ambitions. She entered the
Deaconess School at Kaiserworth.
Worked as a superintendent for
Gentlewomen during illness.
Upgraded the practice of nursing
and made nursing an honorable
profession for gentlewomen.
Led the nurses that took care of
the wounded during the Crimean
War.

Important
Person/Groups/Events
during Period of Educated Nursing
Linda Richards, First graduate nurse
in the US.
Dr. William Halstead designed the
first rubber gloves.
Caroline Hampton Robb, The first to
nurse to wear gloves while working as
an operating room nurse.
Clara Louise Maas, Engaged in
medical research on yellow fever, she
died of yellow fever.
Establishment of nursing organization;
the American Nurses Association
and the National League for Nursing
Education.

 Development of private duty nursing,

settlement house nursing, school
nursing, government service of nurses
and maternal and prenatal health
nursing.

5. PERIOD
NURSING

OF

CONTEMPORAY

Period after World War II

Establishment of the World Health
Organization by the UN
Use of atomic / nuclear energy for
medical diagnosis and treatment
Utilization of computers and use of
sophisticated equipment for diagnosis
and therapy
Health is perceived as a fundamental
human right.

HISTORY OF NURSING IN
THE
PHILIPPINES
EARLY BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
Beliefs about causation of disease:
Enemy or a witch and evil spirit
People believed that evil spirits could
be driven away by persons with power
to expel demons.
People believed in special gods of
healing, with the priest-physician
(called word doctors). If they used
leaves or roots, they were called herb
doctors (Herbolarios)
Herbicheros one who practiced
witchcraft.
Persons suffering from disease
without any identified cause were
believed to be bewitched by the
mangkukulam or mangagaway.
Difficult childbirth were attributed to
nono

Earliest Hospitals

Hospital Real de Manila ( 1577)

San Lazaro Hospital ( 1578 )
Hospital de Indio ( 1586 )
Hospital de Aguas Santas ( 1590 )
San Juan de Dios Hospital ( 1596 )

Prominent Person Involved in Nursing

Works (Philippine Revolution)
Josephine Bracken installed a field
hospital in Tejeros for wounded.
Rosa Sevilla de Alvero- converted their
house into quanters for Filipino soldiers
during the Phil-American War in 1899.
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Dona Hilaria de Aguinaldo organized

Filipino Red Cross.
Doa Maria Agoncillo de Aguinaldo,
2nd wife of Emilio Aguinaldo, Pres. Of
Filipino Red Cross in Batangas
Melchora Aquino (Tandang Sora) nursed the wounded Filipino soldiers,
gave them shelter and food.
Capital Salome- a revolutionary leader in
Nueva Ecija provided nursing care to the
wounded when not in combat.
Agueda Kahabagan- revolutionary leader
in Laguna also provided nursing services
to her troops.
Trinidad Tecson, Ina ng Biac na Batostayed in the hospital at Biac na Bato to
care for the wounded soldiers.

Hospitals and School of Nursing

St.
Pauls
Hospital
School
Nursing, Intramuros Manila 1900

of

Iloilo Mission Hospital Training School

of Nursing 1906
1909 distinction of graduating the 1st
trained nurses in the Phils. with no
standard requirements for admission of
applicants except their willingness to
work
April 1946 a board exam was held
outside of Manila. It was held in the Iloilo
Mission Hospital thru the request of Ms.
Loreto Tupas, principal of the school.
Philippine General Hospital School of
Nursing ( 1907 )
- Anastacia Giron-Tupas, the first Filipino
nurse to occupy the position of chief nurse
and superintendent in the Philippines.
St. Lukes Hospital School of Nursing
(Quezon City, 1907)
- Requirements for Admission:
At least completion of seventh
grade
Sound physical and mental health
Good moral character
Good family and social standing
Recommendations from three
different persons well known in the
community
Mary Johnston Hospital and School of
Nursing (Manila, 1907)
Philippine Christian Mission Institute
School of Nursing
San Juan de Dios Hospital School of
Nursing (1946)
Emmanuel Hospital School of Nursing
(Capiz, 1913)
Southern Islands Hospital School of
Nursing (Cebu, 1918)

First Colleges
Philippines

of

Nursing

in

the

 University of Sto. Tomas College of

Nursing 1st College of Nursing in the
Phils: 1877
Manila Central University College of
Nursing June 1947 (1st College who
offered BSN 4 year program)
University of the Philippines College of
Nursing (June 1948)
FEU Institute of Nursing June 1955
UE College of Nursing Oct 1958

Nursing Leaders in the Philippines

Anastacia Giron Tupas, First Filipino
nurse to hold the position of Chief Nurse
Superintendent; founder of the Philippine
Nurses Association.
Cesaria Tan, First Filipino to receive a
Masters degree in Nursing abroad.
Socorro Sirilan, Pioneered in Hospital
Social Service in San Lazaro Hospital
where she was the chief nurse
Rosa Militar, pioneer in school health
education
Sor Ricarda Mendoza, pioneer in nursing
education.
Socorro Diaz, first editor of the PNA
magazine called The Message
Conchita Ruiz, First full time editor of the
newly named PNA magazine The
Filipino Nurse

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Prepared by Geraldine Ridad, RN, MAN(CAR)Page 4

IMPORTANT TIMELINES IN PHILIPPINE

NURSING HISTORY
1909 3 female graduated as qualified
medical-surgical nurses
1919 The 1st Nurses Law (Act#2808) was
enacted regulating the practice of the nursing
profession in the Philippines Islands. It also
provided the holding of exam for the practice
of nursing on the 2nd Monday of June and
December of each year.
1920 1st board examination for nurses was
conducted by the Board of Examiners, 93
candidates took the exam, 68 passed with the
highest rating of 93.5%-Anna Dahlgren
- Theoretical exam was held at the UP
Amphitheater of the College of Medicine and
Surgery. Practical exam at the PGH Library.
1921 Filipino Nurses Association was
established (now PNA) as the National
Organization Of Filipino Nurses
PNA: 1st President Rosario Delgado
Founder Anastacia Giron-Tupas
1953 Republic Act 877, known as the
Nursing Practice Law was approved.
2002 RA No. 9173, the current law
regulating the nursing practice was enacted.