Throughout history nursing has played an essential role in society as a profession that embodies the preservation and restoration of health along with the care of the terminallly ill. With records from early in the first millennium A.D., ancient cultures referred to nurses as attendants who prepared and administered medicines, cared for the physical needs of patients, and knowingly followed physician's orders. While still focused on the same basic desire to provide wellness, comfort, care, and assurance to the sick, the role of the nurse has evolved into one of the most crucial support functions of modern medicine.

The influences of an everchanging society have promoted the radical developments in nursing throughout time. First seen as a role suitable only for uneducated women or slaves in ancient times, Christianity along with other religious orders soon helped the nurse gain respect as the role of caregiver to the...