Today is the international "Day of Care"! A special day, even if every day should be a "Day of Care".
It would be the 202nd birthday of Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale is considered the founder of modern Western nursing. Nightingale came from a wealthy English family and was intensively involved in learning languages and mathematics. Her desire to train as a nurse was met with incomprehension by her family, as nursing was not a fully recognized profession in society and tended to be associated with Christian communities.
In 1850, Nightingale began her training in Kaiserswerth against all odds. In 1836, Theodor Fliedner had established an educational institution for Protestant nurses in the nearby town of Düsseldorf. Like Nightingale, his aim was to improve conditions for patients through targeted training.
After her training, Nightingale returned to England. In the meantime, her ambition to work in nursing was accepted by her family. In the middle of the 19th century, the Crimean War broke out. Nightingale decided to provide nursing care for wounded soldiers in the Crimea. Once there, she discovered very poor hygienic conditions for the wounded.
She began to scientifically investigate the hygienic situation and statistically analyze the data she had collected. With her polar area diagram, she was able to provide statistical and visual evidence of the causes of death of the soldiers.
At the time, it was an absolute novelty for nurses to become scientifically active. Today, it has become the norm in nursing science - even if it is perhaps not yet universally known - to deal with questions of nursing care for people of all ages.
In the Nursing Professions Act, the examination of scientific topics, participation in scientific projects and the implementation of scientific findings in nursing practice have been included as objectives of training. But how do science and nursing fit together?
The healthcare landscape in Germany has changed significantly in recent years. Medical care is becoming increasingly specialized due to further developments in medicine and medical technology. As a result, the number of days patients spend in hospital is becoming significantly shorter and the transition from hospital to outpatient or inpatient care plays a key role in the tasks of nursing staff. The chronic nature of illnesses also means that not only the curative approach of medicine, but also aspects of counseling, health promotion and maintaining people's health are becoming increasingly important.
This increasing complexity of the nursing profession is supported by the latest findings in nursing science. Nursing research is now established at many colleges and universities. The aim of education is to pass on these scientific findings to future nurses and thus promote the professionalization of nursing. Research mainly relates to new, scientifically proven findings for nursing care. The latest nursing treatment methods should be applied in order to provide patients with the best possible advice and care in a professional manner.
Since 2020, higher education nursing training has been enshrined in the Nursing Professions Act. Whether it is a coincidence that this year was Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday is uncertain. Nevertheless, it is clear to see how rapidly the nursing profession has developed over the last 200 years. A profession characterized by Christian institutions, which was carried out by vocation, is developing into a highly complex research-based profession that is educated at universities. Dealing with scientific nursing findings is becoming a daily tool for future nurses, as education is also provided at the place of research. Research no longer takes place in an ivory tower, but is lived together with the students.
From the winter semester 2022/2023, the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society will be offering a primary qualification degree program in nursing. The theoretical content will be taught exclusively at the university, while cooperation agreements have been concluded with acute care, outpatient care and long-term care facilities for the practical assignments. In this way, the university lives up to its claim of providing knowledge in the care of people of all ages.
For those interested in the degree programs, further information is available at: Nursing (B.Sc.) | Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (hwg-lu.de)
Dates for upcoming information events can be found here: Campus Events - Event Management for Universities (hwg-lu.de)
Or you can contact the course director directly:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Department of Social and Health Care
Prof. Dr. Joachim von der Heide
Professorship of Nursing Science
Tel.: 0621 5203-550
Email: Joachim.vonderheide@hwg-lu.de
