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Nepal celebrated 59th National Nursing Day on Thursday. And nurses might be the blood and beating heart of a hospital, but you might not know as much as you think though. Here, My City has compiled some unique facts and statistics about nursing from the world that might leave you shocked and surprised.
1. It’s old.
We have to start off our list of nursing fun facts with some history. The first record of nurses dates all the back to 300 AD in the Roman Empire. They worked in hospitals that eventually became relatively developed. It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that nursing had many advances and became more widespread.
2. Florence Nightingale shaped the profession and healthcare.
One of the most famous nurses was a British woman, Florence Nightingale. Not only did she save many soldiers lives, she changed the way nurses were educated and how nursing as a profession was viewed by society.
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Specifically, she changed the way hospitals were sanitized, how food was prepared and served and how to treat wounded patients to prevent the spread of infection. This interesting fact about nursing is an important one that evolved the industry.
3. Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing was the first nursing school.
This nursing school started in 1873 based on the principles of Florence Nightingale. Located in New York City, this nursing school offered a one year program. Shortly after Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing opened, New England Hospital for Women and Massachusetts General Hospital opened nursing schools as well.
4. Nurses walk a 5k every shift.
On average, nurses walk four to five miles every shift 12-hour shift they work. That’s a lot of walking. Compare that to the average person who only walks about 2.5 miles on average. Nurses walk double the distance every shift than the average population does daily. This interesting fact about nursing proves why nurses need a comfortable pair of shoes!
5. Half of the students studying a health care related topic are in nursing.
Nursing students represent about 50 percent of individuals studying some form of health care at a higher education level. This is a direct reflection of the industry as a whole. In order for healthcare to operate smoothly as a whole, there needs to be a large number of nurses. This is beneficial for students going through nursing school and nursing programs because of the large, supportive peer group.
6. Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first African American RN.
For 15 years, Mary Eliza Mahoney worked in a hospital before actually becoming a nurse. She started as a cook, then became a janitor and did laundry. She was an unofficial nurses aid, which is what impacted her to become a registered nurse.
She was only one of the three nurses to make it through the New England Hospital training program. Later, she went on to to co-find the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses.
7. There are over 19 million nurses in the world.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were about three million nurses as of 2016. This numerical fact about nursing is shocking because the population of Jamaica is roughly the same as the amount of nurses in the United States. To put this into perspective, there are roughly as many nurses as people living in Los Angeles. On a more global scale, there are over 19 million nurses in the world.
8. The field of nursing will continue growing.
Similar to the nursing fact about top jobs, the field of nursing will continue to grow for the next decade. It is estimated the by 2026, there will be a 15 percent growth of employment of nurses.
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