Florence Nightingale: The Nature of Nursing “Nursing is an art; and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion, as hard preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for what is the having to do with canvas or cold marble compared to do with the living body – the temple of God’s spirit” (“Una and the Lion”)? Modern nurses are known for their dedication, patience, compassion, and selflessness. They have communication skills, emotional stability, empathy, flexibility, physical endurance, problem solving skills, and respect (“10 Qualities”). However, nurses and nursing were not always viewed in such a light. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, nursing was considered to be unrespectable, and being a nurse was …show more content…
Florence Nightingale was born to a wealthy, British family in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820. She was named after the town in which she was born even though Florence was typically a boy’s name. She lived as a member of the upper class for her entire childhood. Florence Nightingale’s mother, Frances, was from a family of merchants of prominent social standing, while Florence’s father was a wealthy landowner who had inherited an estate in Derbyshire, England. Despite her high social standing, Florence was never comfortable in lavish social gatherings. However, one of the benefits of her social standing was that she was able to receive an advanced education. Her father ensured that she received a classical education which included classes such as literature, mathematics, history, geography, German, French, and Italian. Throughout her youth, Florence spent hours in charitable service caring for the poor and sick in a village by her family’s estate. By the age of sixteen, Florence Nightingale had decided that it was her divine purpose to be a nurse. In 1844, she decided to register at the Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Germany though her parents disapproved of her becoming a nursing student (Biography.com). Against her parent’s wishes, Ms. Nightingale set out on a nursing career that would eventually change the nursing field
Nursing’s development from an occupation to a profession follows the devotion and sacrifice of many amazing women throughout history. Considered to be one of the oldest professions, women have performed what could be considered nursing duties since the beginning of time. Although there have been many events and many individuals who have contributed to nursing’s evolution from the occupation it was once considered to the profession that now exists, the development of formal education opportunities and scholarly resources and the women who created them is what fascinates me most. Without knowing, each of the following five women helped lay the groundwork for what Lucie Kelly, RN, PhD, FAAN, eventually termed the eight characteristics of a profession
Before Nightingale, nurses were lower class citizens that were alcoholics or prostitutes with no to a little education. Florence Nightingale realized that nurses ought to have some education in caring for others and be of a higher class. In 1860, she opened the first nursing school in London that did not accept prostitutes and alcoholics. To signify Nightingale’s view of nursing, Lystra Gretter composed a Hippocratic Oath for nurses called the Nightingale pledge.
...re opportunities for nurses. Today’s demand for skilled nurses significantly outweighs the supply of such professionals. In an economically challenged background, all nations are actively looking for ways to change healthcare by expanding value in the care delivery systems. For nurses, everyone’s role adds value to the patients, the communities, the countries, and the world. The development and evolution of nursing is associated with the historical influences throughout different ages. The study of the history of nursing helps understand the issues that confronted the profession. It also allows nurses to gain the appreciation they deserve for playing the role of caring for patients during wartime. The role of the profession has played an important part of history. Through the history, each nurse has efficiently established the achievements of the history of nursing.
Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, It requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God’s spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. (Masters, 2005 (p.186)
Registered nurses came through a long way back to the 19th century, when they used to provide care to the injured soldiers and other injures strangers. Florence Nightingale was the first influenced in this career. She was a daughter of a British family who worked her life to improve the field of nursing. Her main goal was to spread this field throughout the countries. As a success the first school was in the United States, in Boston. Then later it was passed to New York and others states. In today’s society we are still acknowledge to her great work. And improve the medical field for a better upgrade towards today’s society and generation.
Knowing nursing theoretical works helps nurses to contribute to the quality of holistic approach in nursing process. Nightingale’s theoretical work (1969) Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What Is Not focused more on patients and environment (Bolton, 2014). She developed 13 concepts, called canons for creating a healthy environment for patients. Two of them, chattering hopes and advices and observation of the sick, will guide me to assess Mr. D’s situation described in the attached appendix and how these canons connect to College Nurses of Ontario (CNO) (2009) Ethics concerning the client choice and limit to client choice and Registered Nurses Association of Ontario’s (RNAO) (2006) value regarding client respect. Mr. D. admitted to hospital with main diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus type II and its complications to his right diabetic foot.
A theory I can relate to is Nightingales theory, I found her theory to be extremely interesting. A patient health is affected by the environment that they are in, whether it is at the hospital or at their house. Once a patient is discharged the nurse should be aware of the patient home environment, what they have access to, and what they don’t have.
The foundation of nursing practice is grounded in the use of nursing theories. It provides a framework for generating knowledge for furthering the nursing profession. Florence Nightingale, was instrumental in contributing to the modern profession of nursing. Her philosophical assumptions served as the core of her environmental theory.
MacQueen, J. S. (2007). Florence Nightingale's nursing practice. Nursing History Review: Official Journal of the American Association for the History of Nursing, 15, 29-49.
Florence Nightingale, named after the city of Florence, was born in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820. She would pursue a career in nursing and later find herself studying data of the soldiers she so cringingly looking after. Born into the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale took the lead role amongst her and her colleges to improve the inhabitable hospitals all across Great Britten; reduce the death count by more than two-thirds. Her love for helping people didn’t go unnoticed and would continue to increase throughout her life. In 1860 she opened up the St. Tomas’ Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses before passing August 13, 1910 in London. Her willingness to care for her patients was never overlooked and wound establishing
Florence Nightingale’s family had an enormous impact on her career. Born on May 12, 1820, Florence was born into a wealthy family who named her from her Italian birthplace (Iggulden 236). Frances Nightingale, Florence’s mother, was a very social women (biography.com). She taught social graces to Florence including how to properly take care of the household (“Florence Nightingale”). This was well needed because Florence was socially awkward. She was not comfortable being the center of attention, but she strived to please her mother which was her main goal. Florence’s father, William Shore Nightingale, was a landowner with many properties (biography.com). In Hampshire, he taught Florence and her sister Parthenope. The subjects he taught included the following: Latin, Greek, French, Italian, German, history, and philosophy (Iggulden 236). As a result, Nightingale's family influences her occupation.
Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820 at the Villa Colombaia in Florence, Italy to a very wealthy and well-established British family. Her father, William Nightingale was a landowner and her mother, Frances Nightingale was a traditional, obedient housewife. At the time that Florence lived, women were not educated and were not expected to do much but marry young, have children, and look after their husbands and homes. Nevertheless, Florence was very close to her father as a child and he noticed she was a smart and different child than most, so he took the responsibility to educate her. He taught her many languages including French, Italian, Greek, German, and Latin. Also, he taught her mathematics, history, and philosophy. As she grew into her teenage years, Florence experienced feelings of worthlessness and depression and was very unhappy and unsatisfied with her life. Unlike her mother, Florence rebelled against the traditional role of becoming a wife, and had bigger plans in her mind. Florence was bothered by the purpose of her life as an upper class woman because she was curious whether she had any responsibility to the poor and what caused poverty.
Nurses used to be seen as just caregivers, but with the development of nursing education nurses are now seen as a knowledgeable professional that does more than just care for the ill. The American Nurses Association defines nursing as "the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, and population" (Taylor, Lillis, & Lynn, 2015). Nursing has come a long way due to Florence Nightingale 's influence. She made it possible for today 's nurses to not just be a caregiver but to have other roles, responsibilities, and multiple opportunities in career choice.
William Nightingale was well educated, at Cambridge University in England and he taught his daughters at home. William Nightingale taught his daughters to speak Italian, Latin, and, Greek. He also taught them history, philosophy, and math; math was one of Florence's favorite subjects to study (Audian, 1999). Florence's father gave her the education equivalent to an upper class boy during her era. Parthenope rejected her education and joined her mother in domestic activities, w...
Florence Nightingale also known as “Lady with the Lamp.” She was born in Florence, Italy, her birthday was May 20, 1820. Florence came from a wealthy lifestyle; her mother came from a family of merchants. Florence unlike her mother (France Nightingale) was shy, awkward, and avoided being the center of attention as much as she could. She was always eager to please her mother. Her father William Shore Nightingale was a wealthy landowner. He inherited two big estates when Florence was 5 years old. Even when Florence was young, she was helping the sick and poor families that lived in her father’s estates. She knew from the time she was 16 that her passion was nursing. When Florence first told her parents of this, they were disappointed with her.