The problems of inflationary costs of health care are not new to analysts of this phenomenon, and have been addressed in the literature for some time. As the problem is not new, neither is its development. Health care costs have been escalating for decades and the historical evolution can be traced to the post World War II era. At that time federal legislation encouraged dollars to be directed toward the expanding technological industry of health care and little thought was given to cost containment. This also proved to be true of the later Medicare/Medicaid legislation and large third party payers such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield. With the responsibility of out-of-pocket payment taken away from the consumer and assumed by third party payers, the individual gradually lost track of the actual cost of health care. The final bill for treatment has become of little consequence to consumers as well as institutions because someone else is picking up the tab., Copyrights are retained by the author. Please contact Kimberly Windsor for further use of this material.
There is a widespread movement toward professionalization in nursing characterized by efforts to attain autonomy and to convince the public of the special needs which may be met by nurses. Nursing has had difficulty in becoming an autonomous profession through credentialing and the use of standards but they have not historically sought autonomy. While being legally responsible for their nursing practice, nurses rarely bear the direct consequences for the lack of appropriate decision-making. However, new role concepts have emerged and training and educational practices are changing. Nurses tend to see themselves now as being more independent, more than just an adjunct of the physician, and more as the extension of the client. Most physicians are male and most nurses are female, and thus, the traditional acquiescence of women to men compounds the tendency of professional dominance to exercise control of nursing practice., Copyrights are retained by the author.
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Nursing Autonomy Moral and ethical aspects Hospitals
O.A. Amidon and family, 2006-1-0093, 8 X 10 cm oval black and white portrait of O.A. Amidon family. Written on back is "O.A. Amidon and family. Picture taken Aug. 13, 1906."
