Florence Nightingale Essays (Examples)

In 1858, Louis Pasteur identified germs, proving that diseases did not 'spontaneously' arise as nightingale thought (Atwell, 1998). However, it was Nightingale that began work as to the conditions that promoted the growth of germs, but she would not know this for many years.

The Crimean War: Putting Theory Into Practice

When the Crimean War broke out, she began work at once in a British hospital. Her emphasis was placed on maintaining proper hygiene and the importance of the nurse's role in managing the environment. Nightingale tied her religious beliefs to theory about the causes of disease, distinguishing her from other disease theorists of the time. She believed that god create miasmatic disease so that man should learn its causes through observation. Man was then supposed to prevent its reoccurrence through management of their environment (Atwell, 1998).

She believed that nurses had a special responsibility in this process and thus,…

In the Crimean War, she arranged for the physical set-up of the patients' beds, the discarding of the infested and soiled linens and the ensuring of good and maintained ventilation.

After the War, she advocated for social reforms, one of which was the review of the British Poor Laws. The recall of this Law initiated its amendment into the Hardy's Bill on 1867. This bill looked into the state of workhouses and infirmaries that made improvements and administration changes imperative.

She also pushed for the idea of uplifting the poor through his environment. She pressed that the poor will not feel their shortages if their surroundings are clean. She explained that illnesses will be prevented by good sanitary practices.

Florence Nightingale's Nursing Philosophy on Health

Florence believed that addressing a person's health is a critical part of the nursing practice. During the Crimean War, she used mortality rate to address…

Nursing Today

VI. Conclusion

A. The Call to Vocation

B. The Influences: Before and After

C. Nursing, Feminism, ervice, and the Male Ego

Reference List

Bloy, M. (2010). Florence Nightingale. The Victorian Web. Retrieved from http://www.victorianweb.org/history/crimea/florrie.html This site gives a good history of Nightingale, her service, and the impact she had on nursing.

Collected Works of Florence Nightingale. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Retrieved from http://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/eries/CWFN.shtml A great source of information for all the written works of Nightingale. You can see the person for who she was in her own words. A wealth of information.

The Florence Nightingale Legacy. (2011). Florence Nightingale International

Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.fnif.org/nightingale.htm Another site devoted to the cause of Nightingale. Deals mainly with her influence on modern day nursing.

Hellman, L. (1966). Dashiell Hammett: A memoir. The New York Review of Books.

Retrieved from http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1965/nov/25/dashiell-hammett-a-memoir/?page=1 Hammett's mistress gives a unique view of the hard-boiled crime fiction…

ut Florence Nightingale was not intimidated by the attitude of the military officers and she decided to fight with all weapons: she contacted the Times and reported the situation in army hospitals, thus forcing the ritish Army to reorganize their hospitals. Her contribution to the military hospitals paid off when, by improving the quality of sanitation, the number of dead patients was reduced considerably.

Florence Nightingale was a strong supporter of women's rights, believing that women should be able to pursuit carriers. Although a strong supporter of health improvement policies, "Nightingale preferred working behind the scenes to get laws changed and disapproved of women making speeches in public" (Florence Nightingale). Although she was a dedicated nurse and although she was confronted with many prejudices in her work, Florence Nightingale was not a feminist and in fact she was very much adapted to the time and society she was living in.…

Nightingale

Florence Nightingale and Environment Theory

According to most nursing historians, Florence Nightingale is the leading figure in the development of modern nursing. As an early innovator in the field, Nightingale would pioneer many of the ideologies and approach which are still in circulation today. In particular, nursing professionals in her wake would coin the term Environment Theory in order to describe the mode of care that would be her contribution to modern medicine. As the discussion hereafter denotes, this theoretical model would be driven by Nightingale's view that health and treatment outcomes are directly related to the context and conditions within which a patient received care.

Description of Environment Theory:

This is underscored by a basic conceptualization of the Environment Theory. The text by Tomey & Alligood (2005) provides a useful preliminary understanding of this mode of treatment, specifying that during the 19th century that served as a backdrop…

Florence Nightingale -- Nursing Theorist

The pioneering healthcare services that Florence Nightingale performed during 1854 Crimean ar in Europe is today recognized as the beginning of the organized and sanitary field of nursing. This paper follows the career of Nightingale and recognizes her contribution to the theory of nursing care -- and the development of nursing training -- for the ill and the injured.

The Progression of Florence Nightingale's Career

From Financial Comfort to Rebellion

Born into a wealthy family with parents that expected her to do the things young ladies did in the 19th century -- to occupy herself with "embroidery, playing the piano and painting" -- Nightingale nonetheless resisted those callings and carved out her own career. Instead of falling into the comfort of what rich people did in that era in Europe, Nightingale resisted and rebelled. From the time she could think and dream about what her…

Nurses should show the patients pictures and entertain them this way. Care, to Nightingale, means thinking of the patient's needs and desires for things to do and to be entertained.

Taking Food: The nurse must supply a patient's every need, including the food that brings recovery to the body. She is in favor of hot tea and something to eat every three hours. But she advises never to leave food by the patient and to not let the patient see others' food. Eating is to be done to the exclusion of business talk or things that might discourage digestion.

What Food: Hearty food, of course, should be given to the patient: meat, eggs, tea, milk, butter, bread and jelly. One should not give a patient cocoa.

Bed and Bedding: If the bedding is not correct, the patient will be feverish. Bedding should be cleaned often, airing the dirty sheets, one…

Florence Nightingale

For most people, the name Florence Nightingale conjures up images of a gentle Victorian woman tending to wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. The Englishwoman's name has since become synonymous with the ideals of the nursing profession. To me, however, Florence is also a symbol of integrity, determination and courage.

Florence's achievements are even more impressive considering the social conditions prevailing in 19th century England. This was, after all, a time when women did not yet have the right to vote. Women during this era were expected to get married, have children and most important, to stay at home.

Florence, in fact, was luckier than most of her female peers. She came from a fairly well to do English family that could pay servants in order to shield their daughters from manual labor.

Though she was not expected to work, the Nightingales had high expectations for their daughter.…

Nightingale believed that people derived meaning from their various life experiences and the extent to which their lives bring meaning to them has a direct baring on the health condition of their bodies.

Her theory of learning was an exercise in logic: "Observation tells how the patient is; reflection tells what is to be done; training tells how it is to be done. Training and experience are, of course, necessary to teach us, too, how to observe, what to observe; how to think, what to think" (Attewell quoting Nightingale's 1882 narrative on her theory of learning) (8).

How has the theorist influenced my nursing practice and philosophy? hat stands out for me is Nightingale's leadership qualities. She was brilliant in her understanding of health needs, but moreover, she was tactful and when in 1854 she got involved in helping the wounded from the Crimean ar, was able to change the…

Nursing Practice through Environmental Control April 22, 2013 Name RT Final Paper NUR 505-01

Florence Nightingale's Environmental Theory is a patient care theory designed to control environmental factors that allow nature to act in the healing processes to promote better health outcomes. The Environmental Theory argues that nature alone cures, but when aspects of the environment are out of balance, the patient must use energy (Florence Nightingale: Environmental Theory, 2013). Stresses drain energy needed for healing that makes it difficult for nature to act. Nurses can meet a patient's needs through control of environmental factors.

The basis of the theory is an inter-relationship between a healthful environment and nursing practice. The purpose of the theory is to teach nurses to use environmental factors in ways that allow nature to act to enable the healing processes to work in a natural way and to create sanitary conditions for patients to receive…

According to Peters, "We can bracket the impact of this style of 'being with' as 'placebo response', but the term tends to confuse because it obscures a valuable and potentially transformative reorientation of the practitioner -- client axis; the action of the placebo response is triggered by the loving, trusting presence of another in the therapeutic relationship" (p. 173).

Today, women represent about half of all health administrators and almost half of all medical students, and the medical establishment is no longer overwhelmingly male. According to Satel (2000), "Nurses can now train for jobs with considerable clinical responsibility, like advanced practice nursing, with a salary range of $55,000 to 75,000 per year, depending on experience and location. An advanced practice nurse can prescribe many types of medications and order and interpret laboratory tests" (p. 88). Further, nurse midwives deliver babies and nurses in neonatal, coronary and surgical intensive-care units are…

Nursing and the Calling of Katie Makanya:

The longing for the lost pastoral and the longing for change

Florence Nightingale's seminal text Notes on Nursing was written after the author's experiences nursing during the Crimean ar, and was part of her efforts to establish nursing as a unique profession of respect and dignity. During her wartime service, Nightingale had seen the horrific consequences of modern, industrialized warfare. Thus her perspective of the dangers and unhealthiness of city life were inevitably colored by her witnessing of the consequences. "The most frequent and fatal cause of all is sleeping, for even a few hours, much more for weeks and months, in foul air, a condition which, more than any other condition, disturbs the respiratory process, and tends to produce 'accidental' death in disease'" (Nightingale, Conclusion). For Nightingale, the unwholesome nature of city life was literally poisonous.

Nightingale had witnessed the shift to…

However, their medical training in no way prepares doctors for what nurses provide to patients. Nurses are called to their profession because of an innate desire to nurture and care for others. In contrast, doctors might be able to care but are not required to. Their job centers on effective praxis rooted in science. A nurse's job demands a caring attitude and an effective means to deliver the best quality of care.

Florence Nightingale knew that nurses would for a long time be viewed as subordinate to doctors, which is why she proposed a new vision of the profession. Nurses often do provide support services to doctors: hence, the assumption that doctors are able to teach nurses. Nightingale understood the fallacy of that assumption and suggested instead that nursing be cultivated as a singular, unparalleled profession. The nuances of nursing have become, since Nightingale's time, more widely renowned and appreciated…

born in Florence, Italy on May 12, 1820, and she died in on August 13, 1910.

Probably her biggest influence was her father, William, who urged her to get an education and find a career she enjoyed at a time when most women were not educated and did not have careers. However, he did not approve of her career choice, and that was a great disappointment to her. Her mathematics tutor, James Sylvester, was also an influence in her early life, because she found that she enjoyed mathematics and was good at it. She became known for her career as a nurse, but was also an excellent statistician who received awards for her calculations about sickness and death. She fought very hard to clean up unsanitary conditions in hospitals where she worked, and she was one of the first people to recognize that unsanitary conditions could lead to illness and…

History Of Nursing Timeline

820 Florence Nightingale birthplace was Florence, Italy. Her family was quite wealthy and her decision to pursue nursing was not well received by her mother and sister. As a young woman religion influenced her decision to serve others in the nursing profession. As a very young woman she believed she was "called by God" into nursing others to health (Bostridge, 2008). Though her family expected Florence to have suitors, and become a wife and mother, many say she remained chaste throughout her life. Florence begin to study science and nursing and was determined to make it her career in answer to the 'call' from God" (Bostridge, 2008). Indeed, she is considered a pioneer of nursing throughout the world as she traveled to many countries training and establishing nursing schools and hospitals (Bostridge, 2008).

844 Her career officially began in Germany where she studies at the Institution…

Another case may be where the rights of a client brings harm to the client him- or herself. When a client with cancer for example refuses life-saving treatment, I would do my best to persuade the client otherwise. I would do so on the principle of attempting to cooperate with the client rather than directly opposing him or her, but if no other choice is left to me, I would have to act in what I believe is the client's best interest. I would also attempt to find reasons for the client's apparently suicidal decision-making process, and attempt to address this before overriding the client directly.

Conclusion

My philosophy of nursing generally focuses on the integration of the all things in the client's life to create the individuals that I am presented with. Problems within the physical body are more often than not at least affected, if not directly caused,…

Watson's Theory Of Nursing

Florence Nightingale taught us that nursing theories describe and explain what is, and what is not, nursing" (Parker, 2001, p 4). In nursing today, the need for such clarity and guidance is perhaps more important than at any time in the past. As nursing continues to strive for acceptance of its right to be regarded as a profession, and seeks to expand and develop the bank of scientific nursing knowledge, the concepts and values that nursing theories provide are becoming increasingly invaluable. In recent decades, one of the most influential nursing theories has been that of Jean Watson, which has been instrumental in the development of nursing research, education, and practice. However, the crucial test of any nursing theory is not in its universal assumptions and generalizations, but in how it influences nursing practice at the level of the individual nurse and patient. In this respect,…

Flo retaliated by acquiring Harry Johnson and 11 other employees who then worked for Helena. When Helena opened a salon in New York, Arden opened a counterpart elsewhere. Parallelisms appeared to occur between them in that they both entered the men's skin care industry at roughly the same time. They also both married exiled princes after their first marriages ended in divorce.

Flo or Arden also lost half a million dollars in sales in the first two years since her divorce with Tommy, but being inherently innovative, she managed the crisis, recovered and proceeded to lead the industry. Records bear these out. While many businesses flopped during the Great Depression, Elizabeth Arden not only stayed and spent. It also bought an office building and a penthouse in New York during the stock market crash of 1929 and opened several other salons in the 30s.

Elizabeth Arden demonstrated an unwavering commitment…

Dorothea Orem

Hildegard Peplau

Myra Levine

Jean Watson

Educational Background

Nursing diploma, Providence Hospital School of Nursing. Bachelor of Science- Catholic University of America-1939, Master of Science in Nursing Education-1945.

Graduated Pottstown, Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing-1931. B.A. in interpersonal psychology- Bennington College, Vermont-1943, M.A. in psychiatric nursing- Teachers College, Columbia-1947, Ed.D in curriculum development-Columbia University-1953.

Diploma in Nursing, Cook County School of Nursing- 1944. Bachelor of Science in Nursing -University of Chicago-1949, Master of Science in Nursing- Wayne State University-1962.

University of Colorado at Boulder-1964, M.S. in psychiatric and mental health nursing-1966, Ph.D. in educational psychology and counseling-1973.

Philosophy of Nursing

Humans participate in ongoing interchange and communication between themselves and their environments to function and stay alive.

Peplau considered Nursing as therapeutic, meant to help a sick individual in need of health care.

Holistic perspective, believing environment plays a key role in 'wholeness'.

Caring represents the core of…

Nightingale met a friend Richard Monckton Miles in 1842. Then in 1844, Nightingale asked Dr. Howe if she could do a charitable job in a hospital like the catholic nuns, and refused her marriage to her cousin, Henry Nicholson. By 1845, Nightingale started training herself in the nearby Salisbury Hospital, but her parents were not happy about it, seeing nursing as an inappropriate job for a well to do woman like their daughter. In the next year, Nightingale began teaching herself from the government blue books. In the meantime, Monckton Miles wanted to marry her, but soon she travelled to Rome, Italy with friends to avoid him. Britain unlimited, 2009). Finally, after she attended the Herbert's Charmouth convalescent home, her knowledge was recognized. In 1849, after refusing finally to Miles proposal, she decided to go to Egypt while accompanying her friends, the Bracebridges. They then travelled through Europe, and ended…

Nursing Timeline Week 2 • Create a 700- 1,050-word timeline paper historical development nursing science, starting Florence Nightingale continuing present. • Format timeline, word count assignment requirements met

Historical development of nursing timeline

The foundation of modern nursing. Before, nursing was largely the profession of disreputable people and not exclusively female. Based on her experiences during the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale strove to make it a respectable profession with uniform, professional standards. Her approach reduced the death toll in hospitals by 2/3rds during the Crimean War (Florence Nightingale, 2012, Biography: 1). She established the Nightingale Training School and wrote her foundational Notes on Nursing (Florence Nightingale, 2012, Biography: 2-3). Nightingale's canons of nursing compromised everything from an emphasis on proper sanitation to how the nurse should socially interact with the patient.

1880: Famed Civil War nurse Clara Barton founds the American ed Cross.

1909. Hildegard Peplau is born. Heavily influenced…

Images of Nursing

1897 Pablo Picasso

1856 Jerry Barrett

As we have noted, there are numerous images that are effective in establishing the image and role of nursing to the general public. Two prime examples are a surprisingly poetic "Science and Charity," an 1897 work by 17-year-old Pablo Picasso, and a work from 1856, "Florence Nightingale eceiving the Wounded at Scutari -- or The Mission of Mercy," by Jerry Barrett.

"Science and Charity" is oil on canvass and was one of the very few "realistic" paintings done by Pablo Picasso. This academic painting shows a woman on her deathbed, a doctor on her right and a nun on her left. The doctor looks away from the patient as he takes her pulse and goes about his science. The religious sister holds the woman's soon-to-be-orphaned child, offering a glass toward the woman. Both the nun and the doctor wear the same…

History Of Nursing Science

Nursing has existed in some for as long as humans have roamed the earth. The modern era of nursing began with the emergence of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War in the 1850's. The daughter of affluent parents, Nightingale greatly accelerated the development of nursing and is widely acknowledged as the most important person in the history of nursing. Nursing science translates to the profession itself in the form of best practices that have been formulated, debated, reviewed and analyzed so as to verify the validity of nursing theories before they are put into practice.

Nightingale Emerges

As is the case with many nurses and others who dedicate their lives to the care of others, Nightingale was driven largely by her spirituality and religious convictions. Many people perceive there to be an inherent conflict between religion and science but Nightingale did not believe this to be…

Nightingale's philosophy demanded a completely clean and sterile environment in order to best provide for a healthy recovery of patients in need. This is also seen in Martinsen's philosophy and the way it approaches nursing care and practice as a meticulous science.

However, Nightingale's philosophies presented a passive patient, who did not really engage in their own health care strategies. These patients were not involved in the manipulation of the environment around them in order to best facilitate successful care strategies. Rather, the nurses and physicians seemed to work autonomously and outside of the patient's involvement. This isolated the very people who were receiving care and created a situation where the patient could not contribute to the strategy of care of the process of recovery. On the other hand, Martinsen's philosophy is very much influenced by phenomenology. Thus, Martinsen's philosophy of care is centered more around treating the patients and…

Men in Nursing

The history of the nursing field is often depicted as a profession that opened employment doors for women, and contributed to giving women a respected foothold in the working world. While the efforts of activists and politicians have supported the integration of women into the male dominated workforce, little attention has been given to men trying to enter female dominated professions. Both historically and in the present, the nursing field is intrinsically regarded as a single-sex occupation, and has been distinguished as a career that complements the natural abilities of the female gender (Meadus, 2000). The role of men in the nursing profession has been widely dismissed as accounts of male nurses refer to them as "attendants, assistants, or soldiers" (O'Lynn & Tranbarger, 2007, p. 6). Language is not the only form of discrimination against male nurses. As of the present, gender bias in the nursing field…

While it may not be just to hold an organization liable, absolutely, for every instance of employee negligence, there is a rationale for imposing such liability in many cases. For example, many types of industries entail potential danger to others that are inherent to the industry.

Individual workers are not likely to be capable of compensating victims of their negligence, but the employer benefits and profits financially by engaging in the particular industry. Therefore, the employer should not necessarily escape liability for compensating all harm caused by their activities, regardless of fault in particular instances.

10.A nurse is responsible for making an inquiry if there is uncertainty about the accuracy of a physician's medication order in a patient's record. Explain the process a nurse should use to evaluate whether or not to make an inquiry into the accuracy of the physician's medication order.

Like other highly trained professionals, experienced nurses…

Health care, and that too, a quality health care is one of the most basic needs of any human being. In current times, where the fast paced lives are getting faster each day, work stresses are increasing, streets are being storm with junk foods and fast foods, and pollution and congestion is increasing, human lives are getting more and more prone to physical and mental diseases. As a result, the importance of health care systems and health care facilities increases. While, surgeons and doctors are generally seen as the captain of the ship as far as health sector is concerned, very important personnel of the health sector are the nurses. Once quite ignored, the importance of the nursing profession was highlighted by Florence Nightingale, one of the nursing pioneers. Florence Nightingale broke the conventional perceptions associated with the profession of nursing and took it to a new level, explored various…

Delegation in Nursing:

Delegation is generally about communication and accountability though it's one of the most complex processes in the nursing field. Delegation in nursing was introduced and discussed by Florence Nightingale in the 1800s and has continued to evolve or develop since then. Despite its complexity, delegation is important in the nursing profession because of cost containment, the problem of shortage in nursing, increases in levels of patient acuity, the growth of the elderly and more chronic population, and technological advancements in healthcare. In order for an individual in this field to fully develop the skill of delegation, he/she needs knowledge of his/her own attitudes and beliefs as well as reflection as a critical thinking skill.

There are five rights of delegation in nursing i.e. The right task, right circumstances, right person, right direction or communication, and right supervision or evaluation. These rights can be utilized as mental checklist…

Moreover, I feel that patients must empower themselves to become healthier. New technologies and access to a wealth of information on the Internet is helping patients learn more about their bodies so that health care becomes accessible to everyone. As nurses, we need to listen to what the patient's priorities are. If the patient prefers alternative medicine to what the doctor recommends then we should be willing to let the patient choose as long as we inform them of all possible outcomes. Instead of expecting the health care system to rescue them from destructive lifestyle choices, patients need their nurses to counsel them on improving their eating and exercise habits and reducing stress. To reduce stress in our own lives, we nurses need to learn how to remain positive and life-affirming. At the same time, we need to learn how to address sensitive issues related to death and dying, grief…

The death of a child is significant and in this case avoidable and a plaintiff has the right to seek compensatory damages as is allowed by law.

Case Study 1 Part B

At the end of the night shift, Nurse Brown took a verbal handover and then noticed the observation chart had not been filled in. To assist her friend, Nurse Harvey, whom she knew had a busy night, filled in the observation chart and fluid balance chart for the hours from 0200-0600 hrs.

Overcome by the events of the last 24 hrs, Nurse Harvey and Nurse Brown go to the local tavern for a few drinks before Nurse Harvey goes on duty. They discussed Mr. Spencer and his son. John, a friend of Mr. Spencer, overheard the conversation and joined them. He was also upset by the events of the day and was most keen to discuss the accident…

New Nurses and Managers: Organizational Analysis

As the nursing profession evolves and rises to meet modern demands, we are faced with growing complexities in our profession and in our workplaces. From the orientation and socialization of new nurses and managers, to the selection processes for preceptors and mentors, to continuing education, to legal and ethical issues, the modern nurse is faced with complicated situations and elaborate organizations that require his/her continuing dedication.

Organizational Analysis

Professionalism

Examining the concepts included in "professionalism": a profession is a vocation, usually involving science or a unique education; the heart of professionalism per se is twofold: a professional has a distinct type of knowledge and a self-imposed responsibility to serve the community (Donelyn, 2004, Slide 16). Applying those concepts to the Nursing Profession, professionalism is the continual pursuit of knowledge, a self-imposed sense of responsibility for human concerns, development through our unique education, accountability to…

Their leadership role deals with service to their clients, hence, they are their leadership role are similar in a way. However, they differ in that; Florence has the attribute of being autocratic, whereas Clinton is persuasive. Florence showed aspects of commanding whereas Clinton worked by means of winning the trust of others to support his initiative. Secondly, it is notable that nightingale is a nurse while Clinton is a politician. Additionally, they lived in different times, hence the level of development explains their difference in the way they approached issues. They both are holistic; however, Clinton is more open-minded as compared to Nightingale.

Self-analysis of myself as a leader

As a leader, a person works with a group. Therefore, the leadership skills that a person exercises should focus on establishing effective working relations and the environment. A quality leader has multidimensional traits, making him or her appealing and effective in…

Nursing Science

Florence Nightingale (d.1910), founder of modern nursing is born.

Florence Nightingale is widely credited for developing what has been called an 'environmental' theory of nursing. When Nightingale began to practice her craft during the Crimean War, there were no professional protocols for how nurses should behave, nor was nursing a standardized profession. Nightingale suggested the need for cleanliness and well-ventilated areas to facilitate the healing of patients. She also stressed the need for psychological relief from the distress of illness for the sick. "Patients are to be put in the best condition for nature to act on them, it is the responsibility of nurses to reduce noise, to relieve patients' anxieties, and to help them sleep" ("Theory of Florence Nightingale," 2014).

1860: Nightingale establishes the first nursing school in London

1873: First nursing school founded in the United States

1882: Clara Barton founds the American ed Cross, charter…

ole of Women

Womens' ole Then and Now

Women's ole Then and Now

Women's ole Then and Now

Women have played an important role at different times in various fields. They have faced many challenges bravely and gave a new direction for the women to follow in later periods. The achievements are unprecedented and give an idea about the level of courage the women have. Their determination helped them elevate not only their name but they also motivated uncountable other women.

Women's ole Then and Now

The history of the world is but the biography of great men is an old quote which is as true today as it was centuries ago. History has witnessed uncountable great individuals who earned good name and fame because of their service to their country or mankind. It would be biased to attribute all historical achievements to men only. Women, being the partners of…

Nursing

There are significant distinctions that are available to compare and contrast the definition of nursing provided in the 2010 Social Policy Statement (SPS) with the definition of nursing provided by Florence Nightingale in Notes on Nursing. Nightingale is one of the founders of nursing theory and wrote her work in the late 19th century. She was one of the first nurses to take an analytical approach to some of the insights about the field that she garnered. Her definition of nursing states:

"hat nursing has to do ... is to put the patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him" (Nursing Theories, N.d.)

Nightingale believed deeply that a nurse could put their patient in a position of balance relative to their environment and crafted many techniques to this end. By contrast, the American Nursing Association (ANA) and their SPS has the advantage of accessing the culmination…

Nursing is not only a profession, it is a ministry. Nurses not only provide care for their patients, they oftentimes minister to them in order to provide comfort and in some cases, peace of mind. Nursing is a profession that the healthcare system cannot do without. We know that the profession of a physician goes back to even Biblical times, but even though nursing has been around for many years, it does not date back as far as the profession of a physician does. This is not to say that nursing is less important than any other profession. The field has grown so much over the past few decades and nursing is a profession that is in high demand. Nurses now have to decide if they want to do a traditional educational path or get the four-year degree; they must stay ahead of nursing trends in order to gauge the…

Unfortunately, most quantitative studies lack external validity in the research design to allow for general conclusions.

Teaching Theories and Nursing

It was Nightingale that recognized the potential of combining sound logical reflection and empirical research in the development of scientific knowledge that lead to evidence-based practices of today. She saw the need to only classify one's illness by the best possible available knowledge but to also collect patient information in the form of survey. Nightingale's work was also groundbreaking as it was the first to integrate such ideas into one method. She understood how factors such as housing and nutrition could have a direct influence on the patient's health and prognosis (McDonald, 2001, p. 68). Still many researchers to come would look at her work as primitive, inconclusive and one-sided. They would see how such details act as an extension of evidence and the attention paid to details as research…

Nursing is "a profession concerned with the provision of services essential to the maintenance and restoration of health by attending the needs of sick persons." (www.medterms.com) Famous nurse, Florence Nightingale's, greatest achievement was to raise nursing to the level of a respectable profession for women. In 1860, with the public subscriptions of the Nightingale Fund, she established the Nightingale Training School for nurses at St. Thomas' Hospital. Things have changed a great deal since 1860. In the United States, for example, Nursing has become highly specialized and there are many categories of Nursing. In the United Kingdom, there are five categories of Nursing. As defined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, these categories are: Mental Health Nursing, Learning Disability Nursing, Children's Nursing, Midwifery Nursing, and Adult Nursing. (www.nmc-uk.org) Mental Health Nurses, Learning Disability Nurses, and Midwifery Nurses are all either Adult Nurses or Children's Nurses depending on the age of…

U.S. Vs. India Health Care Systems

THE INDIAN HEALTH CAE SYSTEMS

Health care refers to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, ailments, and other body malefactions. It refers to measures such as purchasing medical supplies, training, and hiring of medical personnel, financing research in the medical field and supporting treatment of patients (Stavans, 2010). The government and the private sector majorly provide this role. In most of the developed countries, private sector operators provide quality health care while the government only takes care of the medical care for the poor in the society.

The health care systems of the U.S. And India are different as seen from their unique characteristics. The U.S. health care system is run by the federal states and the private sector. It is advanced in terms of quality as seen from the beneficiaries' life expectancy. U.S.s' life expectancy is at a record high of 75…

Nursing Philosophy

Perhaps the most fundamental tenet of my nursing philosophy is the administration of care in an intrinsically empathetic manner which benefits the patient. I unequivocally believe in patient-centered care and that nurses who are able to maintain this component of their practice as their primary goal are able to produce the greatest efficacy in administering to patients. Moreover, with all of the concerns of the contemporary healthcare market, including various facets of financial and technological concern, the shortage of various practitioners, and innovations in precision medicine, it is easy to forget that the most vital component of the health care industry is the patients themselves. Quite simply, patients have the most to gain and lose from the health care system. Therefore, I readily believe that keeping those patients as the center of the care delivered by me and others within my profession is the best way we can…

The nurse is often expected to act and react only with empirical information, however personal knowledge is considered equally as important by many nurse educators and researchers (Chinn & Kramer 2004). This also helps to explain why "health" and "environment" are considered distinct major components in the metastudy of nursing; both can be understood on highly subjective terms, with the concept of "good health" changing from patient to patient, or "person" to "person." Environment, too, has a major effect on the practice of nursing and the growth of the nursing body of knowledge.

3)

My personal philosophy of nursing centers on the belief that each individual person under my care deserves full attention and the unique application of my knowledge in addressing their immediate and long-term needs and concerns. That is, each person should benefit as much as possible from the full extent of my nursing knowledge, while still being…

Women's Education 1840s

An Analysis of Women's Education in the 1840s

Women in both Britain and America were set to receive greater attention in the realm of academia in the 1840s than they had in decades prior. The Bronte sisters had both begun their writing careers that same decade and Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel was published at the end of it. Mary Shelley had been writing for nearly three decades already -- Frankenstein being published a year after the death of Jane Austen. Women of letters had obviously received an education -- but from where? This paper will look at women's education in the 1840s and show how it was changing.

Changes

Jane Sherzer (1916) notes that "in West Virginia, in Southern Indiana and Illinois there were no schools for the higher education of women up to 1840" (p. 1), however, she adds that "early in 1840, in Indiana there…

Male Nurses

Is Nursing Women's Work?

With all of this talk about diversity, the global economy, and focus on a nondiscriminatory policy in the mass media, in the new millennium we would like to convince ourselves that we have shed many of the stereotypes that once defined our culture (Chung, 2011). It is true that in many professions we have raised or nearly destroyed the glass ceiling that once existed for women. Everyone knows what the glass ceiling is and knows that it only applies to women, right? This may be true in many professions, but in the field of nursing, one can argue that the glass ceiling exists for men and that male nurses struggle to break free of the stereotypes that limit the types and levels of work that they can do. It comes as no surprise to the casual observer that the nursing profession is dominated by…

Hildegard Peplau was another pioneer in the fields of nursing and healthcare. One of her lasting innovations in this profession can be evidenced from her work in and regard for a theoretical perspective of nursing. The following quotation identifies some of the contributions she made in nursing theory. "According to Peplau (1952/1991), nursing involves the therapeutic interaction between two or more individuals motivated to come together by the pursuit of a common goal, the product of which is mutual growth. The common goal provides the incentive for the therapeutic relationship between the nurse and the patient (Plummer, M., & Molzahn, A.E., 2009, p. 137)."

Additionally, Peplau helped to stratify the various stages involved in nursing. She identified these stages as the orientation phase, the working stage and termination phase, and outlined a series of tasks and perspectives which influenced her theory about each of these stages (Plummer, M., & Molzahn,…

, 2010). It is perfectly conceivable that this nurse leader would welcome more collaborative or shared leadership responsibilities, particularly since the setting for empirical clinical research on this very issue was, in fact, an ICU (osengren, Bondas, Nordholm, et al., 2010).

Finally, it appears from this interview subject's input into this project that she is a competent and effective nursing leader, largely by virtue of her description of her supervisory and administrative style and inclination. However, her input lacked any substantial data on the basis of which a reviewer could evaluate her effectiveness as a clinical leader more specifically. Those particular skill sets may occur in combination but they undoubtedly also occur individually within different leaders (Stanley & Sherratt, 2010). A review of historical literature (such as in connection with Florence Nightingale) clearly demonstrates that good nursing leaders may or may not necessarily also be equally good clinical leaders (Stanley…

At the time of the first years of the Frontier Nursing Service, many trained physicians had left America due to the war effort, making Breckenridge's task even more formidable. However, the communities were welcoming, which made the efforts worthwhile -- most of the midwives who had served the population were so old that they "turned their practices over to us with sighs of relief" she wrote (Breckenridge 1954, p.256).

Breckenridge's story indicates the importance of access and availability of healthcare for rural populations. Specialists "came to the mountains" since their residents could not (Breckenridge 1954, 257). Many of Breckenridge's patients had illnesses, such as cataracts, that could be easily remedied by doctors, but could severely inhibit the life of the sufferer if they were left untreated. Medical, dental, and other clinics were created to ensure that healthcare appointments became a part of the community's life, not something extraordinary undertaken only…

133). This informal power is quite significant when it comes to patient decisions and as such doctors need to appreciate and understand this power nurses wield.

Due to the unique information nurses have about patients, nurses have considerable decision-making responsibilities concerning patients. For this reason, many medical schools have implemented programs, in their curriculum, to teach medical student how important it is to listen to the advice of their nurses. Innovative universities like the University of Kentucky Medical Center actually encouraged their residents to develop a collaborative partnerships with the nurses with which they worked. Paynton (2009) notes that outcomes of patient care improve when collaboration increases and the role of nurses is valued. However, regretfully, this collaboration does not always take place.

Although there is a shift in trends towards more collaboration between doctors and nurses, giving nurses more formal power in advocating for patients, the narratives collected by…

Another statistical measure that should be implemented is the use of statistical techniques to measure the side effects of certain drugs and medications given to patients.

Possibly one of the most important statistical aspects that should be applied to modern nursing is the creation of clinical pathways in hospitals. The development of clinical pathways are related to "…attempts to reduce hospital utilization" and "cost-containment initiatives" ( Lagoe, 1998) There are many variables that have to be statistically considered in this regard and statistical analysis of data provides insight into the clinical pathway; for example, an analysis of the variables relating to the hospital population.

While data and information collection processes are important, they are dependent on accurate and dependable analysis techniques to be effective and of use in nursing. While nursing is known as a profession that stresses qualitative aspects, there is an increasing emphasis on the accurate quantitative side…

Nurses

The nursing profession has always attempted to put forward a positive, clean and healthful image. Throughout history the nursing industry has tried to portray nurses as angels of mercy, and as ethically upstanding, helpful healthcare professionals, just a few steps down from doctors in terms of medical needs. But lately the images of nurses has changed and not always for the best. This paper critiques the images of nurses through a review of the available literature.

The highly respected Gallop Poll ranks nurses at the top of the list of several important professions in terms of "honesty and ethical standards" (Gallup, 2010). In a 2010 polling project by Gallup eighty-one percent of respondents rated nurses "Very High" or "high"; number two below nurses was "military officers" (73% rated them "very high" or "high"; number three was "druggists or pharmacists" (71% rated them "very high" or "high"; and number four…

Christian Worldview Nursing

Health care in the West and worldwide has undergone very extreme changes over the past decades. However, the basic principles of nursing like caring for the sick and elderly have remained consistent. While technology has changed radically since the days of Florence Nightingale, Christian caring in the nursing profession is still a foundational principle. It is this foundational principle that I seek to express in my ministering to my patients.

Christian Worldview and the Integration of Beliefs, Values, Ethics and Service

The definition of nursing for me symbolizes a set of beliefs, values, ethics and service. Nursing is after all a calling and a vocation, not just a job. In Judith Anne Shelly's book Called to Care, she defines nursing as distinct from medicine, even though the two occupy domains that are close together.

She defines it in a way that I find very familiar and similar…

Martha Ballard and Harriet Jacobs

When we talk about Martha Ballard and Harriet Jacobs, we have to remember that both were the pathfinders for women in the occupation that they had undertaken. As a nurse, it may be true that Martha Ballard cannot be compared with Florence Nightingale, but at the same time, one has to remember that the social background of Florence Nightingale was totally different from Harriet Bleacher. The nursing jobs that were done by them were also in totally different spheres and were it not for the famous diaries of Martha Ballard; she may have remained unknown and unsung. To a certain extent, the story of Martha Ballard and Harriet Jacobs are the same as both of them came up from the lower strata of society and probably Harriet Jacobs was worse positioned having been a slave. Again her story has collected from her own efforts --…

Professional Association

Professional Organization for Nursing

In the past, a number of individuals inside every society started delivering care and nutrition for all those who had been struggling to look after themselves. Because these people became 'care specialists,' they started to express to other individuals the procedures that helped them and also to train other individuals as apprentices who would probably at some point continue their function. The advancement of contemporary nursing starting from some sort of vocation, towards the profession and discipline of nursing, started during the later part of the 1800s when Florence Nightingale stated her perspectives on the way nurses ought to be taught and schooled and just how patient care ought to be offered (Hegge, 2011).

The very first schooling institution for nurses within the U.S. established during 1873. Two decades afterwards nursing school managers sensed the moment had arrived to interact as well as discuss…

Healthcare

Identify the three types of health organizations? Please explain

Three types of health organizations include managed services organizations (MSOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), and independent practice associations (IPAs). MSOs refer to organizations like Medicare, which usually serve as gatekeepers to patients by seriously limiting their choices with regards to medical care. PPOs refer to the generally contracted services, such as those garnered through the employer's plan or personal insurance. IPAs are private practices that bill directly to clients.

Identify the 4 levels of service. (hint: the 4th is rarely used)

The four levels of services include primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care. Primary care is often of a routine nature, and pertains to standard procedures such as diagnostics or treatment interventions. Secondary care refers to areas of specialization in medicine. Because the consumer generally needs a referral to access secondary care, and because the consumer has usually already seen…

Future of Nursing Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The primary objective of this book is to provide the reader with evidence-based nursing education and practice principles. The goal of this work is to help nursing educators and nurse practitioners develop evidence-based nursing education standards and curriculum while providing nurses with effective examples of patient-centered care that is both high quality and cost effective. Patients and family members in Saudi Arabia have needs and expectations that nurses should seek to meet and fulfill. To that end, this book aims to support nurses and nurse educators.

The cultural values of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are also an important component of this work, as it is the culture of this country that supports and advances the aims of the nursing profession. This is seen in every aspect of the nursing profession -- from the earliest days of the first nursing…

Mary Breckinridge

The history of maternity nursing in many ways echoes that of other types of nursing, although it is arguable that improvements in the quality of nursing care have had an even greater impact that improvements in other arenas of health-care. This paper examines one of the nurses who was instrumental in improving maternal health care through changes and improvements in maternity nursing, Mary Breckenridge, a nurse-midwife who helped to established a neonatal health-care that dramatically reduced the mortality rates of both mothers and infants.

Humans have nursed each other since the beginning of the species - indeed attempts to care for other individuals to help reduce their pain and increase their overall health are seen in a wide range of primates: Nursing is arguably something that is encoded in our very genes. However, modern nursing can realistically trace its roots only to the 19th century, which is where…

Magnet Status

In the world today, health care is probably one of the most important rights a human being should be able to expect. In fact, the quality of health care offered at any given time can mean the difference not only between illness and health, but even between as much as life and death. For this reason, all health care personnel are subject to a code of ethics based upon the Hippocratic oath, which in essence focuses on maintaining health and well-being, or achieve these as quickly and as far as possible. This is also the underlying for the recent addition of Magnet status to healthcare providing institutions.

The term "magnet" was first applied to health care settings in 1982, when the American Academy of Nursing used it to refer to the phenomenon of "attracting and "retaining" nurses within high quality work environments (Aiken, n.d.). By 1990, the importance…

Art of Nursing According to Virginia Henderson

Virginia Henderson has tremendously helped to bring a new perspective of the art of nursing. For this reason, her biographical sketch together with educational and professional details earned her the name the Modern-day Mother of nursing and the Nightingale of modern nursing. Virginia Henderson's theory was a major stride in the field of nursing and in the art of nursing. The theory has also been used by the theorist to come up with another definition of nursing. The art of nursing according to Virginia Henderson has had major implication on nursing and is of relevance to the current nursing practices. This paper will give a biographical sketch of Virginia Henderson. In addition to this her educational and professional overview will be analyzed also. Henderson's theory and its applications will then be reviewed where the four major concepts constituting it will be looked at.…

"(History of Nurse Anesthesia Practice)

Among the earlier formal programs for nurse anesthesia were those established at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, the University Hospital of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, and Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago. (History of Nurse Anesthesia Practice) Another important historical event which shows the acceptance and advancement of nurse anesthetists was the invitation of Alice Hunt, a nurse anesthetist, to join the Yale Medical School faculty as an instructor of anesthesia in 1922.

The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists was founded in 1931 and today is a professional organization which represents more than 35,000 Certified egistered Nurse Anesthetists (CNAs) and student nurse anesthetists. (AANA Overview)

Furthermore the AANA, promulgates education, and practice standards and guidelines, and affords consultation to both private and governmental entities regarding nurse anesthetists and their practice. The AANA Foundation supports…

Nurse

I believe that my education and my professional experience in management genres, in healthcare -- including working as a nursing assistant and in homecare environments -- and in business have prepared me well for a career in nursing. After reviewing my qualifications and my skill set -- revealing that I have a history of competent, dependable involvement in worthy vocations -- and the extent of my career interests, I believe it will be clear that I am well positioned for a career as a practical nurse.

Reasons that justify my Goal of becoming a Practical Nurse

First of all, I am very familiar with a number of pivotal aspects of medicine and healthcare and have worked extensively in the industry. I have an Associate Degree in Respiratory Therapy (1992) from the California College of Health Sciences through St. Joseph's Hospital in Minot, North Dakota. As a respiratory therapist at…

There are, of course, many individuals besides nurses that are essential parts of medical teams when it comes to providing effective and efficient care to patients. General practitioners (GPs) are primarily tasked with determining diagnoses and developing treatment plans for their patients, and with coordinating the efforts of the rest of the medical team (Thomas & Corney 1993). Specialists such as dieticians, diabetes educators, and physicians that practice in highly specialized fields all have their own niches that most patients require service in at some point in their lives. Nurses can support all of these roles without assuming them themselves.

From a nursing perspective, teamwork in the provision of medical services and overall patient care is heavily predicated upon mutual respect amongst the team members and acknowledgement of the competencies and skills brought to the group by each team member (Thomas & Corney 1993). Teams function most effectively when the…