100 Years of American Nursing: Celebrating A Century of Caring

Rating:
Summary: "Nursing at its Finest"
Review: This is a well-done pictorial review of nursing over the century as title indicates. It is a beautiful reflection from the 1900's to the current status of the Advanced Practice Nurse today. It includes biographies and photos across the United States and abroad wherever nurses served. It begins the story of nursing from the Henry Street Settlement with the acknowledgement that "prevention of illness is cheaper than caring for the ill" by Lillian Wald for Metropolitan Life Insurance in 1902. The turbulent times of 1990's with nurses on strike during a critical time when healthcare needs are expanding is also adressed-as Congresswoman Barbara Jordan says "This is no time for nurses' numbers to be declining: Congress has just expanded Medicare. Without nurses we don't have a system." It concludes with a comment from Margaretta Styles addressing the need for credentialing to meet the needs of all-especially the underserved. Stories are told throughout from nurses in WWI through Desert Storm.