HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES: NURSING PRACTICE AND EVOLUTION
Abstract
Background: Florence Nightingale, the lady of the lamp, was the first nurse who made a meaningful contribution in the history of nursing as of the western literature, as of the Islamic literature and history recorded Rufayda Al- aslammiyah as pioneer and inspiration for the nursing profession and recognized as the first professional nurse in the Arab and Islamic world. The Islamic perspectives of the encompassing theme of God-centered life, a core value of the philanthropic approach in caring for people, exemplified the cultural representation of an individual perception practicing the nursing profession.
Methods: A literature review adopted searches using CINAHL, Medline, Springer-Link, PubMed, Publon, Wiley& Wilkin, Google scholar, and science Direct. The study results generated four core themes: a—history of Nursing in Islam, b. Perception towards health and illness in Islam, c. Evolutionary concept of nursing in Islam, d. Nursing practice and development in the profession.
Conclusions: A review of the literature demonstrated an immeasurable impact concerning pieces of literature on the caring behavior of human life, evolution in the health profession, and the cultural influences in caring for sick people along with its parallax view of sayings (Alhadith) by our Holy Prophet (PBUH), insisting on the caring nature of the job and nursing the human beings. Islamic principles have the potential to illuminate the core concepts inherent in the holistic approach in nursing.
