Introduction
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.
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When Nightingale and her team arrived at the military hospital in Scutari they saw the horrible conditions the soldiers were in. Soldiers were covered in bugs, everything was filthy and unhygienic, and even rats were under the soldier 's beds. Because of the poor care and unsanitary conditions soldiers were dying of diseases such as typhus, cholera, and dysentery (Wright, 2010). The hospital didn’t even have the most basic supplies such as towels or soap, so she made the firsts purchases to provide for the soldiers. Once she identified what the main problems were she went about to fix them. She made sure she and her nurses cleaned everything from walls to floor, she contacted the government to send men to have the sewers flushed, made sure that there was plenty ventilation, and made the ward as sanitary as possible (Wright, 2010). Nightingale shortly began began writing books and opened the first training school for nurses. It wasn’t until the Civil War that Nightingale 's writings on nursing influenced the way the military tried to organize its nursing and nursing education in America (Kautz, 2014). A volunteer during the civil war tried to convince congress to pass a bill to make the corps of nursing permanent and to start a school of nursing for the corps. It wasn’t until …show more content…
Most employers prefer that nurses get their bachelors in science because they tend to have stronger skills apart from just having the technical skills the ADN nurse has. Nurses with their BSN degree acquire knowledge of theory and practice related to nursing. A great thing about going into nursing is that there is a variety of specialties nurses can go into because of the continuous education research.” A nurse with an advanced degree, education, or experience who is considered to be an expert in a specialized area of nursing” (Taylor, 2015). For example a nurse could be specialized in areas such as oncology, labor and delivery, or infection control. Nurses can also go on to get their master’s or doctoral degrees and become a nurse practitioner or nurse educator. The possibilities for a nurse are
In particular, the use of Florence Nightingale’s theory of nursing as the basis of my new practice had allowed me to begin with the basics and work my way forward toward a more modern and holistic approach to nursing care. While Florence’s work focused mainly on the military and her care of soldiers, she began to establish schools of nursing to promote nursing education and to encourage people to view nursing as a viable profession, (Alligood, 2014. 63). Nightingale’s focus may have been care of the military, but she made great strides on getting recognition for nursing and her theories still affect the practice of nursing today. In the article, Nurses as Leaders, the author proposes that nurse leaders have made great strides since Nightingale’s time when nurses were conscripted to help care for wounded soldiers. Such a setting required these early nurse pioneers to rely on critical thinking and quick action in order to save lives. The author goes on to discuss how a change in nursing occurred in the early 20th century as new management styles emerged, most notable the “Scientific Management,” model. This style placed doctors at the top, then nurse managers, and on down to bedside care staff. Though this did allow some nurses the ability to move upward, nurses resented a doctor being in charge of their teams as the work of a physician and that of a nurse are two very different practices, ("Nurses as Leaders," 2016). This is quite different from the modern concept of a nurse executive as leader of
“Apprehension, uncertainty, waiting, expectation, fear of surprise, do a patient more harm than any exertion. Remember he is face to face with his enemy all the time, internally wrestling with him” (Nightingale, 1992, p. 22). Fortunately, in the nineteenth century, Florence Nightingale recognized uncertainty could cause harm to her patients (Nightingale, 1992). Equally important to the nursing profession are the nursing theorists, their work, and the evolution of the theories that followed Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing (Alligood, 2014).
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.
Florence Nightingale's Role In Improving The Training Of Nurses In The 19th Century Just 150 years ago nursing was not regarded as a profession. Stories about nurses in the early 19th century suggest that they often did little to help their patients recover. Most nurses were untrained and were paid less than factory workers. They slept in wards and part of their wages was gin. One of the women who changed that image of nursing was Florence Nightingale.
In today’s society nursing meets all the requirements of being a profession. To be considered a profession, one has to be dedicated to their career, abide by standards and a code of ethics, and have a higher education and a body of knowledge, duty to provide service, have autonomy and be part of a professional organization. Nurses take the traditional role of caring for loved ones to a whole new level of care.
“They Heard the Call of Duty: Civil War Nurses.” Army Heritage Center Foundation. Accessed February 3, 2014. http://armyheritage.org/education-and-programs/educational-resources/education-materials-index/50-information/soldier-stories/291-civilwarnurses.
The field of nursing provides one the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. Nurses interact directly with patients at times of hardship, vulnerability, and loss. The nursing profession has been around for decades. Due to the contribution from historical leaders in nursing, the nurse’s role has progressed over time. Although the roles of nurses have evolved throughout the years, one thing has remained the same: the purpose in giving the best patient care.
To this day, the most admired person in nursing history would be Florence Nightingale. She will forever be an influential figure in the world of nursing due to her perseverance and critical thinking skills that saved so many lives during the Crimean War. There is no way to tell how long it could have taken nursing to evolve without the help of Nightingale. In her book, Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not, Nightingale described a multitude of factors that must be considered when helping the ill to recover and to have the healthy maintain their well-being (Nightingale, 1860/1969). Four chapters in her book are of high importance, chapter two, on Health of Homes, chapter
Nursing is a field of work that so many people find themselves fascinated with, as well as harboring a degree of respect. We look to nurses with a sense of admiration and reverence, and look to them for security in times of need. What makes nursing such a desirable and enthralling field to other people? Despite the fact that doctors are normally under the spotlight, nursing is of profound importance in American culture. Nurses provide comfort and security, as well as a knowledge of medical aid. The field of nursing has the benefit of coming from a field that is ancient, yet timeless and has blossomed throughout history to make a large impact on our culture today.
Nursing is more than merely a job, an occupation, or a career; it is a vocation, a calling, a frame of mind and heart. As a nurse, one must value the general good of others over his own. He must devote of himself nobly to ensure the well-being of his patient. However, today’s well-recognized nurses are notably different from nurses of the recent past. Service is the core of the nursing profession, and the essential evolution of the vocation reflects the ever-changing needs of the diverse patient population that it serves. As a profession, nursing has evolved progressively, particularly in its modernization throughout the past two centuries with the influence of Florence Nightingale. The field of nursing continues to grow and diversify even today, as nurses receive greater medical credibility and repute, as its minority representations
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
Nightingale’s concepts are used a great deal in everyday nursing. Nightingale referred to the person as a patient (Alligood, 2014, p. 65). She defined health and that it was maintained by the prevention of disease and through health promotion (Alligood, 2014, p. 65). She believed that health would benefit from environmental improvements (Alligood, 2014, p. 66). For professional nursing, Nightingale defined the skills, behaviors, and knowledge that is required for further
Sometimes in war a person can learn new things that can befit the world. Nightingale saw that most soldiers were dying from illness and not from there injures that they had received. ("Florence nightingale," 2011) She observed the environment that the patients were in, and notice that most of them did not have adequate nutrition, and their environment was not clean. ("Florence nightingale," 2011) The changes she made in the ward included a better nutrition and a sanitary environment these changes greatly decreased the mortality rate which was at a 42% then drop to 2% ("Florence nightingale," 2011) Nightingale believed that a patient environment affected the healing process for the patient. Nightingale states, “Nursing out to signify the proper use of fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, quiet, and then proper selection and administration of diet.” (Alligod & Tomey, 2006) Nightingale created 13 canons, which revolves around nurse to critical think and how the nurse can change the environment. An example of one of her Canons is noise, states “asses the noise level in the client room and surrounding area. Attempt to keep noise level to a minimum.”(Alligod & Tomey, 2006)
According to the American Nurses Association (2015) nursing is defined as optimization of health, prevention of injury, alleviation of suffering, and advocacy in the care of individuals and families. Two influences
Florence Nightingale by:Meghan Suelter Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820 in Italy. She was with a very wealthy family who always went to and had very expensive parties. During Florence’s childhood she was known as Flo! She is still known as Flo when people talk about her today. Florence’s parents were Francis Nightingale, and William Nightingale.