Professor and class,

The evolution of nursing education during the 20th century was what intrigued me the most from this weeks lesson and reading. Early in the 20th century, schooling was mostly clinical and was 1-3 years in length. Schooling was also only diploma programs that were based in hospitals. Most schools were still hospital-based diploma programs by the end of the 20th century but there were a couple BSN programs that had become available. Though there were BSN programs available they were strongly opposed. Though class had increased, much of schooling was still clinical. School time also grew to 3 years, instead of 1-3 years. It is interesting to me how much education has evolved since this time. While we still have clinical time there is so much more class time that is required. Education is part of everything we do and is required to even renew our license. We have to do about 70 education modules yearly required by the hospital I work for. It applies to us today because our education is constantly evolving and changing. Education will continue to grow and I’m sure things will continue to change and the profession and medical field does. During the 20th century “Educational modification based on theory and the acquisition of scientific knowledge ushered in an era of academic nursing education associated with either a college or a university education” (Judd, 2014, p. 122).

Judd, D., & Sitzman, K. (2014). A history of American nursing: Trends and eras (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.