Florence Nightingale: The Mother Of Modern Nursing

Introduction Nursing is constantly changing, improving, and becoming more complex with each year that goes by. It is for this reason that there is an incredible distance between what nursing was then and what nursing is now. Nightingale lived from 1810-1910, with her improvements and contributions the Lady with the Lamp became a turning point of nursing at that time, which led to the many improvements which gained her another name as the Mother of Modern Nursing. If Florence Nightingale were to experience Nursing as it was today in 2017 she would be astonished by the changes in ethical, legal, professional, and knowledge of the old ways.

The Old Times (1820-1910) During Florence Nightingales time of influence between 1820 to 1910 there weren’t

It wasn’t unheard of for a nurse at this time to steal from a client. According to Nursing World Historical Review in 1896 the American Nurses Association began with the purpose of organizing national professional associations for nurses, and later, after Nightingales time adopted the code of ethics for professional nurses in 1950. Legally, there wasn’t anything to restrict nurses as it had barely even been considered a respectable field and career. At the time nursing consisted of caring for someone by providing food, cleaning out the sheets, bathing, and caring for the sick and anyone with on the job training could become one. After the war, nurses were seen as heroes and became a much more popular career choice for women. Professional attire at that time consisted of nurses wearing gowns modeled after nun habits. Nurses jobs were to take care of their nursing duty and taking care of patient’s needs.

The 21st Century In the 21st century, many things have changed since Florence Nightingale’s time, there are many more ethical, legal, and professional standards to protect both the patient and the

She would see how the conditions for treating patients has improved, how knowledge has been increased, how education is a priority, how ethical, legal, and professional ideals have been improved. She would however have some issues blending in with the new nursing standards. She did not have the modern education, techniques, documentation skills, technologies, equipment, and an increase of responsibilities. This could cause legal issues as well as ethical issues, increased chances of making mistakes and she would not be able to take care of the patient fully. For example, not wearing PPE when entering contact precautions patient’s room. Nightingale would not understand the culture and environment, where females nowadays are more equal in standing with men and that there are many more men in the profession than in her times. She would have limited experience in treating patients with diverse cultures and ethnicities. She could be sued for perceived racism, and would not be able to communicate effectively with the patient due to her inability to understand different cultures causing ethical issues as well as professional issues.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there have been many significant changes from the time Florence Nightingale such as legal, ethical, and professional