The Evolution of Hypnosis in the Profession of Nursing: We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby, and Still Have a Long Way to Go

Abstract

Registered nurses (RNs) are the largest, most diverse, and most respected of all healthcare professions in the United States, numbering over 3.5 million (Gallup poll, 2017). Nurses have evolved from being the handmaidens of physicians and bedpan handlers to highly trained and educated clinicians who have assumed an important, integral, and indispensable role in the healthcare system. The capabilities of nurses to expand the excellent care they can provide has historically been thwarted by others in the healthcare field, including in the area of hypnosis. This article begins with a historical perspective on the education, training, and ever-expanding profession of nursing. The multiplicity of settings where nurses have the opportunity to incorporate clinical hypnosis into the care of their patients is discussed.

Keywords:

• hypnosis
• nurse
• nursing
• nursing education
• nursing history