NUR 313 Final Review for Contemporary
Issues in Professional Nursing Final
Exam Questions and Answers
Florence Nightingale ✅Founder of modern nursing
Spurred reform of the British Army medical system based on her efforts during Crimean
War
She wrote Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not to establish nursing's unique
body of knowledge
She founded first training school for nurses in London (1860)
Dorothea Dix ✅Union Superintendent of Women Nurses, champion for mental health
Sojourner Truth ✅famous abolitionist
Harriet Tubman ✅leader of "underground railroad"
Mary Ann "Mother" Bickerdyke ✅lay nurse who was appalled by the surgical conditions
in the hospital camps in Cairo, Illinois. She brought order out of the chaos and created
cleaner conditions.
Clara Barton ✅founded American Red Cross
Phoebe Pember ✅Confederate hospital matron
Current Status of Nursing in the
United States ✅Age: Average age of graduates is 31
BSN mean age: 28
ASN & Diploma degree mean age: 33
Median age has risen from 38 years in 1988 to 46 years in 2004, older nurses are
remaining in the workforce
Race, Ethnicity : 16.8% of RN population, compared to 34.4% of the general U.S.
population, constitutes ethnic minorities; compared to 12% in 2004
The percentage of minorities currently enrolled is increasing, at 26.8%
The percentage of RNs practicing in the United States who were educated in India or
the Philippines is over-represented compared to general population
Education ✅Three mechanisms of nursing education:
BSN: Slightly over 50% of nurses (4 years)
ADN: Majority of nurses receive initial education through ADN programs (2 years)
, Diploma : typically 3 years of hospital education earned by only 3.1% of nurses since
2004
5.6% of U.S. RNs are educated internationally
Recruitment of foreign-educated RNs is a controversial strategy to expand the
workforce in response to the nursing shortage.
Nursing Image ✅Over time, nurses have had many images, ranging from the angel of
mercy to the sexual stereotype sometimes portrayed in works of fiction. Examples:
Hot Lips Houlihan in MASH
Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Coocoo's Nest
Nurse Jackie
Call the Midwife
Nurses Rank as Most Honest, Ethical Profession for 14th Straight Year (12/21/15)
Improving Nursing's Image ✅Nurses must value nursing and project that image
Nurses must recognize the value of what they do
Nurses must communicate the importance of what they do
Nurses must believe in themselves and in their colleagues
Nurses must project a professional image in appearance and action
Nurses must celebrate the accomplishments of colleagues
Nurse must act to strengthen the profession through advocacy and action
Lucie Kelly, RN, PhD, FAAN, ✅1981:described eight characteristics of the nursing
profession:
8 Characteristics of a Profession ✅1. Vital to humanity and welfare of society
2. Special body of knowledge enlarges over time
3. Services involve intellectual activities
4. Education in institutions of higher learning
5. Practitioners relatively independent
6. Motivated by service and importance of work
7. Code of ethics to guide practice
8. Organization supports high practice standards
Barriers to Professionalism in Nursing ✅Varying levels of preparatory education: BSN,
ADN, Diploma
Gender Issues: female-dominated professions such as nursing, social work, and
teaching
Society devalues "women's work"
Historical influences: Religion & military inculcate values of unquestioning obedience
Altruism can devalue autonomy and fair economic valuation
System Theory ✅a set of interrelated parts that come together to form a whole that
performs a function (von Bertalanffy, 1936)
Issues in Professional Nursing Final
Exam Questions and Answers
Florence Nightingale ✅Founder of modern nursing
Spurred reform of the British Army medical system based on her efforts during Crimean
War
She wrote Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not to establish nursing's unique
body of knowledge
She founded first training school for nurses in London (1860)
Dorothea Dix ✅Union Superintendent of Women Nurses, champion for mental health
Sojourner Truth ✅famous abolitionist
Harriet Tubman ✅leader of "underground railroad"
Mary Ann "Mother" Bickerdyke ✅lay nurse who was appalled by the surgical conditions
in the hospital camps in Cairo, Illinois. She brought order out of the chaos and created
cleaner conditions.
Clara Barton ✅founded American Red Cross
Phoebe Pember ✅Confederate hospital matron
Current Status of Nursing in the
United States ✅Age: Average age of graduates is 31
BSN mean age: 28
ASN & Diploma degree mean age: 33
Median age has risen from 38 years in 1988 to 46 years in 2004, older nurses are
remaining in the workforce
Race, Ethnicity : 16.8% of RN population, compared to 34.4% of the general U.S.
population, constitutes ethnic minorities; compared to 12% in 2004
The percentage of minorities currently enrolled is increasing, at 26.8%
The percentage of RNs practicing in the United States who were educated in India or
the Philippines is over-represented compared to general population
Education ✅Three mechanisms of nursing education:
BSN: Slightly over 50% of nurses (4 years)
ADN: Majority of nurses receive initial education through ADN programs (2 years)
, Diploma : typically 3 years of hospital education earned by only 3.1% of nurses since
2004
5.6% of U.S. RNs are educated internationally
Recruitment of foreign-educated RNs is a controversial strategy to expand the
workforce in response to the nursing shortage.
Nursing Image ✅Over time, nurses have had many images, ranging from the angel of
mercy to the sexual stereotype sometimes portrayed in works of fiction. Examples:
Hot Lips Houlihan in MASH
Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Coocoo's Nest
Nurse Jackie
Call the Midwife
Nurses Rank as Most Honest, Ethical Profession for 14th Straight Year (12/21/15)
Improving Nursing's Image ✅Nurses must value nursing and project that image
Nurses must recognize the value of what they do
Nurses must communicate the importance of what they do
Nurses must believe in themselves and in their colleagues
Nurses must project a professional image in appearance and action
Nurses must celebrate the accomplishments of colleagues
Nurse must act to strengthen the profession through advocacy and action
Lucie Kelly, RN, PhD, FAAN, ✅1981:described eight characteristics of the nursing
profession:
8 Characteristics of a Profession ✅1. Vital to humanity and welfare of society
2. Special body of knowledge enlarges over time
3. Services involve intellectual activities
4. Education in institutions of higher learning
5. Practitioners relatively independent
6. Motivated by service and importance of work
7. Code of ethics to guide practice
8. Organization supports high practice standards
Barriers to Professionalism in Nursing ✅Varying levels of preparatory education: BSN,
ADN, Diploma
Gender Issues: female-dominated professions such as nursing, social work, and
teaching
Society devalues "women's work"
Historical influences: Religion & military inculcate values of unquestioning obedience
Altruism can devalue autonomy and fair economic valuation
System Theory ✅a set of interrelated parts that come together to form a whole that
performs a function (von Bertalanffy, 1936)
