Reinterpreting the Concept of "Nursing" in the Korean Context

Abstract

Florence Nightingale acts as the threshold dividing "modern" nursing and "premodern" nursing. The history of modern Korean nursing is not exceptional. It is not surprising that the history of modern Korean nursing describes the advent of "Western" nursing as it was delivered from Western medical professionals. Although traditional Korean medical doctors, Hanuisa, largely practice at traditional Korean health clinics and hospitals, the nurses who work at these traditional Korean health clinics and hospitals are trained at the same nursing education programs as those who work in Western medical clinics and hospitals. The purpose of this study was to find a concept of "nursing" in the context of traditional Korean medicine, which traditional Korean nursing in modern era may inherit and expand upon, by reinterpreting the concept of nursing in terms of a philosophy that supports traditional Korean medicine. This article utilized a philosophical analysis of literature that is essential to the reinterpretation of this concept. In terms of core concepts, nursing and traditional Korean medicine share common features with each other. On the basis of these common features, cowork in practice should be more developed and articulated. This will add new characteristics to the history of Korean nursing.