In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, let’s take a “break” and read some fun facts about nursing.
- Currently, there are more than 996 baccalaureate programs in the US. Of the 688 programs that responded to a fall 2018 survey conducted by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, total enrollment in all nursing programs leading to a baccalaureate degree was 363,433.
- The National League for Nursing has designated the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) a Center of Excellence on five separate occasions.
- The first school for nursing in the US was established in 1862. Known today as the Dimock Center, it was initially called the New England Hospital for Women and Children.
- The first person to hold a diploma in nursing was Linda Richards. She went on to establish the first nurses-training program in Japan.
- One of the most famous nurses was a British woman, Florence Nightingale. Not only did she save many soldiers’ lives, she also changed the way nurses were educated and how nursing as a profession was viewed by society.
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were about three million nurses as of 2016. This numerical fact about nursing is shocking because the population of Jamaica is roughly the same as the number of nurses in the US. To put this into perspective, there are roughly as many nurses as people living in Los Angeles. On a more global scale, there are over 19 million nurses in the world.
- It was a nurse who brought the Red Cross to the US. Clara Barton tended soldiers on the front lines of the Civil War, and went on to introduce the organization to America.
- Three-fifths of registered nurses in the US work in hospitals.
- On average, nurses walk four to five miles every 12-hour shift they work. That’s a lot of walking. Compare that to the average person who only walks about 2.5 miles on average. This interesting fact proves why nurses need a comfortable pair of shoes!
- If you see a nurse smiling when things go wrong, she is probably going off duty. : )
