Categories: nursing
Date: 01 February 2006 21:46:08
I went to a seminar yesterday where they had a visiting American prof talking about her research into public health nurses in the 1930s-40s in rural Wisconsin (public health nurses were basically the American equivalent of health visitors). Absolutely fascinating stuff (note to self: remember to search for new book by Rima Apple in a couple of years' time). What I found most interesting was the issues she described facing these nurses working in the poor, rural, isolated communities were pretty much identical to the ones facing me in 21st century inner-city London - issues around collaboration with and separation from the medical profession and the wider political system, issues regarding whether families take advice to get you out of the house or because they see its value (ie communication), issues around whether the advice and support given is in response to a stated need or if it's just the professionals' interpretation/opinion of what that particular client needs. These are all issues that I've wrestled with in my (admittedly not that long) health visiting career, and although the debate now might be more sophisticated and we may come to different conclusions, the initial issues to be debated are just the same. That bloke in Ecclesiastes was right - there really is nothing new under the sun.
Mind you, I'm glad we've moved on from insisting that babies are given orange juice and cod liver oil from 3 weeks. That did make me cringe!