PLENARY SESSION: THE DEVELOPMENT OF NURSING PROFESSION IN THAILAND

Abstrak

Nursing Profession in Thailand has long history. It has been established and supported by the Royal families. Queen Sripatcharintara, who was the daughter of King Rama IV and queen of King Rama V first introduced nursing as a career for woman and also established the first nursing school in Thailand in 1896. It was a great tragedy for her to lose her infant child to cholera and the high maternal death rate motivated her to introduce modern nursing to Thailand. Prince Mahidol of Songkla,one of King Rama V’s son, who received his medical education at Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA. isconsidered the father of medicine in Thailand. He invited the Rockefeller foundation to improve nursing and medical education in Thailand. Prince Mahidol’s  wife, deceased Prince Mother king Rama IX, was a nurse. She provided royal patronage for the Thai Nursing Association. The initial nursing curriculum emphasized obstetric or midwifery. The program aims to decrease infant mortality and maternal deaths. The first baccalaureate degree of nursing program was established in 1956. In 1978 all nursing school required 4 years of education or baccalaureate degree. In 1973 the first master program in nursing education was established fellow by master program in nursing practice specialty in 1977. The first doctoral in public health nursing in 1984.Then, a collaborative doctor of nursing science degree program involving four public universities was created in 1990. The first PhD degree in nursing was also started in 1997. In addition, we have established a post master degree residency training in advanced nursing practice in 2014. It is a 3 years training program, similarly doctor of nursing practice in the USA.