Leading the American Academy of Nursing: A historical review of the Presidents' words and actions on "rationality," inclusivity, and health policy, 1973 to 2023.

Background: Little has been written about the history of the American Academy of Nursing (Academy). An examination of the association's origins, purpose, early goals, and leaders' words and accomplishments can illuminate the organization's role within the profession today.

Purpose: This paper begins the process of documenting the Academy's history.

Nurses on the front line: The 1918 influenza and COVID-19 pandemics.

Due to advances in science and medicine, nursing is far different today than it was in 1918. During a pandemic, however, skilled nursing care remains critical to patient outcomes. This article identifies and describes the experiences of US nurses during the 1918 influenza pandemic and compares them to the experiences of nurses responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nurses on the front line: The 1918 influenza pandemic and COVID-19.

This article identifies and describes the experiences of US nurses in the 1918 influenza pandemic and compares them to nurses' experiences today as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are based on traditional historical methods with a social history framework. Because of advances in nursing, medicine, and science, nurses' work is quite different today than it was in 1918.

Babies at the Border: Reflections on Nursing on Ellis Island.

: Updated several times a week with posts by a wide variety of authors, AJN's blog Off the Charts allows us to provide more timely-and often more personal-perspectives on professional, policy, and clinical issues. Best of the Blog will be a regular column to draw the attention of AJN readers to posts we think deserve a wider audience. To read more, please visit: www.

Living in the epilepsy treatment gap in rural South India: A focused ethnography of women and problems associated with stigma.

In India, women with epilepsy face unique challenges. A focused ethnography of six women within the epilepsy treatment gap was conducted in rural South India. Women were asked to describe their day-to-day lives.

Historical Perspectives on an Expanded Role for Nursing.

The 2010 Institute of Medicine report, the Future of Nursing, recommended that nurses work to the "full extent of their training" to address the primary healthcare needs of United States citizens. This article identifies and describes historical antecedents, cornerstone documents, and legislative acts that served to set the stage for today, laying the groundwork for an expanded role for advanced practice nurses in the 21st century. Beginning with Lillian Wald's work in Henry Street Settlement in 1893, through Mary Breckenridge's founding of the Frontier Nursing Service in 1925, the discussion describes how nurses provided access to care for thousands of urban and rural citizens throughout the United States in the past.

Using nursing history to inform decision-making: Infectious diseases at the turn of the 20th century.

Background: This historical paper examines the impact of infectious diseases on the urban poor of Chicago and New York a century ago, before most vaccines were developed.

Purpose: Working on the front lines of health promotion and health care, nurses and other providers are charged with informing the public about offered vaccines. The intent of this paper is to supplement providers' knowledge about vaccination with an appreciation of the devastation these diseases once caused.

Frontier nurse-midwives and antepartum emergencies, 1925 to 1939.

This article examines how the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) utilized nurse-midwives to respond to antepartum emergencies such as preterm birth, eclampsia, malpresentation, and hemorrhage in the women of Appalachia in the years 1925 to 1939. Particular attention is given to the preparation that nurse-midwives received during their midwifery education to prevent and respond to emergencies. Using traditional historical research methods and primary source material from the FNS papers in the Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington, Kentucky, this article describes the nurse-midwives' experiences and how they implemented skills they had learned during their training in Great Britain.

A nursing historical perspective on the medical home: impact on health care policy.

Background: The idea of a "medical home" is rapidly gaining in popularity in health policy circles today. In the face of a shortage of primary care physicians, it has led to a national debate about who should lead the homes, who should deliver care, the kind of care that should be offered, and the location of that care. A historical examination of nurses' role in primary care can provide evidence to inform the current dialogue.

Marfan syndrome teaching algorithm: does it make a difference?

Marfan Syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant, connective tissue disorder that is due to a deficiency in the structural protein, fibrillin. MFS patients are more likely to experience aortic aneurysms and dissections, dislocated lens, and/or severe musculoskeletal deformities than non-MFS patients. Attainment of a longer lifespan in MFS patients is directly dependent on vigilant blood pressure (BP) control, frequent cardiology surveillance, annual eye exams and frequent dental hygiene visits.

Fire in the belly and the professionalization of nurses: a historical analysis of Crohn disease care.

Today, professional nurses around the world are stepping up to meet the needs of individuals with Crohn disease, using their specialized knowledge and skills that demonstrate areas of expertise that have not always existed. The gastrointestinal-specific knowledge being used by these 21st-century nurses exists today because progressive efforts of nurses in previous decades moved the profession of nursing forward. The purpose of this article was to describe and analyze the development of the role of nurses in responding to new challenges patients with Crohn disease face since the emergence of the disease in the early 20th century.

Nurses' role in the prevention of infant mortality in 1884-1925: health disparities then and now.

Nursing has a strong historical precedence in the treatment of health disparities. This article evaluates the public health nurses' (PHNs') role with infant mortality during 1884-1920, specifically how nursing care impacted on conditions of poverty, poor nutrition, poor living conditions, lack of education, and lack of governmental policies that contributed to the poor health of infants a century ago. The historical significance of the early PHNs' role can improve our understanding of nursing practice with childhood health issues today.

Addressing disparities in access to care: lessons from the Kercheval Street clinic in the 1960s.

Health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities have been present in the United States and persist today. NMHCs (Nurse-Managed Health Center), which can serve as "Medical Homes," are one mechanism by which nurses can attempt to overcome these disparities within communities. In the mid-1960s, Nancy Milio developed and found funding for a NMHC to address disparities in Detroit, Michigan.