The professionalization of psychiatric nursing. From doctors' handmaidens to empowered professionals.
The professionalization of psychiatric nursing in the United States has been subject to political, economic, and theoretical influences, and prominent individuals such as Florence Nightingale and Hildegard Peplau have caused changes over time. Throughout history, professional and societal beliefs about mental illness have affected the nature of psychiatric nursing. In colonial times, people with mental illnesses were considered to be either possessed by demons or inferior and treated as animals. Today, psychobiological causes of mental illness are better understood, and treatment is aimed at adjusting disordered physiology and implementing psychosocial interventions. Care of people with mental illnesses has echoed this shift with increasing professionalization of psychiatric nurses. Attention to the lessons of history can help psychiatric nurses identify current societal influences, act on them according to their own vision, and further increase their professionalism.
Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. anitaboling@yahoo.com
Anita
A
Boling
D003688:Deinstitutionalization / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000266:history*; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000266:history / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014481:United States
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs