Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing
Open Access

The following issues were addressed in this study using a historical research design: where did nursing as a health-care profession exist in ancient Egypt? Also, what is the social context, working conditions, nursing burden, various functions, and health and illness beliefs? To address the above-mentioned questions, the author conducted an in-depth search of literature authored/written by Egyptologists, then gathered, drafted, reflected on, revisited, and recorded the story of confirmed information. The goal of this study is to present an outline of the history of nursing in ancient Egypt, as well as to describe the impact of societal trends on nursing development from around 3100 BCE to the end of the Greco-Roman period [1].

Nursing has a long and rich history, but modern nursing students are rarely taught about it, which causes them to undervalue the accomplishments of previous nurses. Nursing history offers nurses with a realistic understanding of nursing and how this history of nursing development has led us to where we are now. As a result, it establishes the foundation for critical thinking and judgment by instilling confidence in nursing personnel and motivating them to look for influencing elements. Studying nursing history, in particular, assists nurses to have a better understanding of current issues affecting the profession, such as compensation, regulation, shortages, education, practice definition, autonomy, and unity. Without a solid basis, today's nurses will be unable to effectively address these critical concerns [2].

Knowledge of the past. Students must also use the evidence in front of them to develop "the wider picture," and teachers should encourage students to think about history as a way of knowing and a kind of evidence in their reflective practice. Furthermore, it generates knowledge that continues to promote and grow their nursing professional identity, and it necessitates the development of some cognitive skills in nurses. This is how historical inquiry can improve student learning outcomes. Many nurses consider nursing history to be a distinct structure and kind of knowledge. It appears to be a narrative narrator. Nursing history necessitates not just the collection and memorization of discrete facts, but also the understanding of a variety of complicated processes unique to the nursing profession. Historians must employ a variety of data to remodel and recreate historical events that may be partial, inconsistent, and difficult to comprehend, especially when studying a 5000-year-old past.

The ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, documented their daily activities and beliefs through literature, which helps us, understand this early civilization. Three non-alphabetic scripts were used to write Egyptian. Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, and Demotic are three different types of hieroglyphs. Pictographic/ideographic symbols and phonetic symbols were utilised in each of them. Hieroglyphics were employed for monu- mental inscriptions and decorative texts; whereas Hieratic was used for administrative documents that valued content above beauty and had to be produced rapidly. Demotic writing became widespread; it was evolved from Hieratic, although several symbols were lost in the process. As a result, the authors of this article consulted literature (authored by Egyptologists) to learn about the symbols employed in the three styles of writing. As a result, icons that depict nurses became visible. Environmental herbals were employed by ancient Egyptian healers. This was attested in various medical papyri, including the Edwin Smith, London Medical Papyrus, Papyrus Berlin, Papyrus Carlsberg VIII, and the Ebers papyrus, and was about treating inflamed wounds. Willow leaves' antipyretic properties were used to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases, while willow bark was used to relieve labor pains and lower fever. Salicylic acid is found in the leaves, grass, and bark of the willow tree, according to recent studies. Ancient Egyptian medics could suture, according to literature and images [3].

The wound was dressed with a mixture of raw meat, linen, and honey-soaked swabs. The so-called healing statues first emerged at the beginning of the Late Period and early Ptolemaic Period. They are males from the Delta region who are noble or elite. The mythological inscriptions etched on these monuments were employed by the Egyptians for medicinal purposes. The cause of the illness is extremely important in determining the treatment method; if the cause of the illness is obvious, such as trauma, they choose drugs; if the cause of the illness is hidden, such as internal disorders, the range of using magic and amulets in this case will be broader, aside from invocations to gods who were thought to be involved in both causing and curing diseases [4].

Wet-nurses' social position was determined by the status of the people they served or by the fact that they were nursing. So, if the wetnurse served a king or a member of the royal family, she would have become a royal wet-nurse and would have many special privileges, such as erecting a massive tomb, carving statues depicting her relationship with members of the royal family, and having funerary equipment. In addition, the wet-relatives nurse's would have many privileges as well. This will be reflected in their titles as well as their ties to the royal family [5].

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