Nursing care and nurses’ good service in 1821-1822

Abstract

Background: The first elected chamber of representatives of the Portuguese nation started operating after the 1820 Liberal Revolution. Although historically distant from nursing professionalization, education, regulation, and con-trol, several references were made to nurses in this chamber. Objectives: To analyze the discussions about nurses and nursing in the Sovereign Congress in 1821-22. Methodology: An historical search was conducted in the daily session records, followed by the collection, analysis, and interpretation of sources. Results: Five themes were identified: the figure of en-fermeiro-mor; the Proposal for a General Public Health Regulation; references to nurses; the presence of midwives and bleeders; and the organization of nursing wards and hospitals. Conclusion: No explicit reference was made to nursing, only to nurses. The definitions of enfermeiro-mor and nurse differed. Bleeders were frequently mentioned, as well as the structured organization of midwives. Nurses appeared as caregivers in hospitals and at home, in a different category of other care delivery activities; howev-er, nursing was still far from professionalization. Finally, there were references to issues related to hygiene, safety, qualifications, and care organization.