As he finally gasped, he looked up and saw the nurse who had just given him CPR. He lay there and breathed again because the nurse, educated and trained to help him, saved his life. To save a life and become a hero in someone's eyes, that's a nurse. Nurses are important figures in society and are present every time and forever. They play a key role in a patient's care and take on many tasks and responsibilities. As nursing has evolved, people's lives are better protected, education is an important factor, and nursing has made steady progress in technology and medicine. Nursing has been around for hundreds of years. As the years have passed there have been drastic changes in the nursing industry. From the clothes they wore, to the education, training, and technology as it is (Christensen 1). In the 19th century, hospitals were dirty and overcrowded. Patients with open wounds were left unattended. Workers used poor hygiene and the infection ran uncontrolled. Hospitals were known as places where diseases and infections are contracted rather than where they are treated and cured. During this time period there was a lack of trained and skilled workers, because a properly educated girl did not work outside the home (Christensen 3). The women who actually worked in the hospitals were lower class, drank heavily, and were involved in prostitution. During this time a German shepherd named Theodore Fliedner founded the first nursing school in Kaiserswerth, Germany. The reputation of this establishment spread quickly and a lady was impressed (Christensen 3). In the year 1851 a determined young woman named Florence Nightingale joined the Kaiserswerth program. Two years l...... middle of paper ...... Johnson Services, Inc. Discover Nursing. Discover Nursing, 2009. Web. 11 September 2011. .Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. “Stay out of court.” Nursing 2011 41.4 (2011). Print.Netscape. "Open Directory - Health: Nursing: History." ODP - Open Directory Project. November 1, 2009. Web. September 13, 2011. Help for Nursing Jobs. "Nursing Careers | Nursing Career Advice." 2011. Network. September 11, 2011. “Registered Nurse Stuff.” Registered Nurse | Registered nurse stuff. May 29, 2011. Web. September 11, 2011. .Resop Reilly, Janet E. “Nursing Shortages in Public Health.” American Journal of Nursing 111.7 (2011): 11-13. Print.Simons, Rae and Viola Ruelke. Gommer. Careers with character: nurse. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest, 2003. Print.