| Show how nurses help prevent disease OFTEN it takes a great man to see aea a perfectly obvious thing for years patients with tuberculosis had bad been attending clinics for diagnosis and treatment before anybody thought to investigate their home conditions or to help improve them or to teach patients how to live tor for the benefit of their own health and to prevent their being a source of infection to others it remained for no less a man than sir william osler oeler at that time professor of medicine at the johns hopkins Aled medical leal school baltimore maryland and one of the outstanding physicians of his time almo to realize that la in tuberculosis prevention much could be achieved by going into the homes af pf of patients dr oster osier never was a man to evade an issue or to shade an adjective in a public publia meeting in baltimore he said my dear long suffering patient hopelessly inert fellow citizens for consumptives ives living in our midst we are doing nothing mr klaybor layor and follow fellow citizen at 0 oco o solitary thing that a modern civilized community ity should do personally securing a fund from friends dr osier instituted a systematic visitation ot of patients by one 0 of his women medical students etu donta tills this was in 1899 in 1900 a report on the home condition of cases of tuberculosis showed appalling conditions this was the first scientific investigation ever made ol of the domestic dom eatlo and social factors surrounding tho the disease soon it became apparent that more regular visitation was waa needed than could bo be expected of a medical edical tu stu atu dent A nurse tor for this special work was appointed in 1903 by 1908 1906 there were 34 84 nurses in nine cities now there are in the united states confining their efforts entirely to the important and perfectly obvious job which osier oaler was the first to soe BOB the vital need ot of a nurses help in the home to solve the problems of domestic detail which are important in beiling the patient and safeguarding other members of the family from d danger anar |
