Analysis Of Florence Nightingale's Theory Of Nursing

1818 Words4 Pages

notices to patients and their families, schedule and lead the meetings. Wishing to be actively involved in the process, I represented nursing along with the charge nurse of the unit and the charge aide.
Though there are many good qualities in a leader, Catherine Meliniotis sums it all up in her article written for Advance Healthcare Network. For example, she discusses how it is always imperative to begin with good communication, continue to request feedback from staff, patients and families, encourage staff to provide their own ideas and suggestions, and ask your staff if you are focusing on the right concerns. Meliniotis also encourages emphasis on interpersonal skills, being adaptable, and showing empathy. In particular, it is essential …show more content…

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

Open Document