Helen Fairchild, a nursing hero
Helen Fairchild, although she isn’t as famous as some pioneers such as Florence Nightingale, deserves respect and recognition as a nursing pioneer. The work she did not only as a nurse but also as a combat nurse as well. She along with 63 other nurses from her Pennsylvania hospital risked their lives to save the brave men fighting in the First World War. This essay lays out the life of Fairchild from her early years to her short career as a nurse as well as the detailed letters she sent home that made history in nursing. Her brave heroics and selflessness must never be forgotten in the field of nursing and should be used as a guide on how nurses should pride themselves in their profession.
Intro to the nursing
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As seen when Holder (2004) wrote, “In her letters home, Fairchild described the deplorable conditions the nurses had to endure. Their quarters were tents with dirt floors, and the constant rain, mud, and bitter cold of France was a difficult environment” (p. 4). She describes the filth of her nursing station, much like Florence Nightingale had concerns about. Without the letters to home the story of Fairchild might have been forgotten and the nursing profession would have lost a great attribute to its commitment to the patients and their …show more content…
Her nursing career was short but she will forever have a lasting effect on the profession. She suffered from stomach ulcers that became worse during her time in the war. It is rumored that she gave her gas mask to a soldier when they were hit with mustard gas. She saved the life of her patient and risked her own. She died in surgery to heal her stomach ulcer. Fairchild taught everyone in the nursing profession two very important lessons about being a nurse; the first is to be selfless. This means that you must think in an altruistic way and do everything in your power to be successful in the recovery of your patient. The other lesson taught from her abrupt nursing career is organization. Without her organizational skills her story would have never gotten out and she would not have been able to assist her patients as well as she did on the battlefield in the sub-par conditions she faced. These two points are critical to nurses even today because nurses must
In the todays century, the responsibilities, roles, and opportunities for nursing and nurse education has grown abundantly to that of modern day nurses. Many nurses in the eighteen century were not educated nurses and never attended nursing school; however, they still provided care for the sick, poor, and needy and played a vital role in health maintenance. With the hard work from many notable nurses in history such as Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, and Isabel Robb and the persistence and dedication for change from influential nurses such as Mary Mahoney and Mabel Staupers; nursing today has transformed in many aspects of practice. Although nursing as a profession is continuously evolving throughout the years, the core foundation of nursing hasn’t changed in that nursing is a profession of caring for others and servicing those in need.
Her hospital is a symbol of her caring and dedication to the field of nursing, and as long as it stands it is a reminder of these factors that are a huge part of the nursing process. Jeanne highlights the importance of caring for patients and always wanting the best for the hospitals. Nursing is centrally a caring profession, this can be remembered through past nurses who have devoted their passions to improving nursing as a profession. Many individuals have created the basis for the nursing profession that we know today, and will know in the
A staunch supporter in the development of nursing as a profession, Palmer helped launch and was the first editor of the Journal of Nursing in 1900 (Black, 2014). She spent 20 years as editor-in-chief of the periodical and wrote many editorials that helped to guide and shape the nursing profession. She viewed herself as a champion of the individual nurse but ultimately assisted in providing the foundation of the profession of nursing (Sophia French Palmer, n.d.). Palmer’s ideas and writings support Kelly’s Criteria of a profession by supporting the thought that a profession is consists of “a special body of knowledge that is continually enlarged through research” (Black,
...book. It was very detailed when it came to the wars that the nurses had to volunteer in, because if it wasn't for the nurses, most of the soldiers would have died. Not only did this book cover nurses, it covered the beginning of nursing (Florenece Henderson) until the present day (1996). It explained new techniques and great methods of nursing compared to the past.
Women Nurses in the Civil War." USAHEC.org. The United States Army War College, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. .
...African Americans after the civil war Barton stepped in helping anyone she could. This to me is the way a nurse should feel in her heart. Wanting to be a nurse to be selfless and help individual get better or to console and stay with them to comfort them in their last moments. She is a true inspiration to nurses everywhere.
The history of nursing important to understand because it can help our professionals today to know why things are the way it is now and can have solutions to unsolvable problems from history. Captain Mary Lee Mills was an African-American woman born in Wallace, North Carolina in August 1912. She was a role model, an international nursing leader, and a humanitarian in her time. She joined many nursing associations, she participated in public health conferences, gained recognition and won numerous awards for her notable contributions to public health nursing. Her contributions throughout her lifetime made a huge impact on the world today and has changed the lives of how people live because of her passion for public health nursing.
West, E., Griffith, W., Iphofen, R. (2007, April vol.16/no.2). A historical perspective on the nursing
Registered nurses work to contribute good health and prevent illness. They also treat patients and help go through there rehabilitation and also give support and advice to patients family. Registered nurses are general-duty nurses who focus in the achievement of caring for their patients. They are under the supervision of a doctor. As I researched this career It brought more questions to my life. It became a big interest that soon I would have an opportunity to answer my own questions obviously with the help of others.
Florence Nightingale was born into a wealthy family involved in elite social circles. Her mom was interested in socializing, however Florence did not inherit this trait. Florence preferred not to be the center of attention, and often got into arguments with her mother, who was usually very controlling of her. Florence did not get much say in decisions. Florence’s father was a wealthy landowner and provided her with a good education including lessons in German, French, and Italian. She had always wanted to help people, which led to her being active in philanthropy starting at a very young age. Florence had decided she wanted to be a nurse when she was 16 years old, a decision her parents did not agree with. For women in the Victorian age, it was rare for women to have jobs. Women usually took care of children and looked after the house. Florence rejected a marriage proposal when she was 17, once again setting herself apart from the typical Victorian woman. In 1844, she became a nursing student at the Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserwerth, Germany. There were not very many nurses back then, let alone a female nurse.
Dossey’s (2010) article states that Florence was the “philosophical founder of modern nursing, the first recognized nurse theorist, and her legacy is the holistic nursing movement” (p. 14). Florence was more than just a nurse theorist. She took her life’s work and experiences and laid them out to help teach and mold upcoming students into becoming great nurses. She did this by establishing a model for nurse training schools in England (Dossey, 2010). Once these were used and proven success-ful, they spread throughout the world and the foundation of her work is still used today (Dossey, 2010). She was also a healer of the Crimean War during 1854-1856, by helping care for the sol-diers and providing health care to those in battle (Dossey, 2010). Providing care to those wound-ed in battle is a very heroic job, and Florence did a great blessing to all of those men and women who served in the war and needed her care. Florence was the first woman honored for the Lon-don Statistical Society in 1858, and the Order of the Merit award in 1902 (Dossey, 2010). She was awarded many other awards for her accomplishments and hard work, including a museum in her honor. The Florence Nightingale Museum was built in 1982 to protect all of Florence’s let-ters, awards, and contributions that she has made to the nursing profession (Florence, 2012). The museum was intended to make Florence’s work and spirit feel real, and
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)
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
Nursing has been and always will be a profession that is constantly changing. Nurses were once prostitutes, thieves, and women who were forced to practice as a nurse instead of serving jail time. Today, however, nursing is looked at as one of the most respected and well-regarded careers. There were several people who contributed to the change in nursing from years ago to what it is today. Virginia Henderson was one of those people. Called the first lady of nursing by many, Henderson is credited with creating the definition of nursing.
She first developed an interest in nursing during World War I because she felt an inner need to help wounded and sick soldiers (“Virginia Avenue Henderson – the mother,” 1996). She started her nursing career in 1918 at the US Army School of Nursing and later became a nursing instructor at the Norfolk Protestant Hospital in Virginia (Smith, 1997). Henderson received her education during the empiricist era of nursing, which focused on needs however, she felt her theoretical ideas developed and advanced throughout her nursing career and experiences in the medical surgical unit. This is where she realized the importance of helping the patient return to independence so that recovery can continue after hospitalization. Henderson became familiar first with physiological principals while obtaining her graduate education. The understanding of these components became the major foundation for her care in nursing practice. (McEwen & Wills,