Florence Nightingale : An Immense Impact On Nursing

Before the existence of the Great War, America had fought in previous wars. In the years before the Great War nursing was not even a word for the women who had helped with the aid of fallen soldiers. Florence Nightingale, who helped in establishing nursing as a career used her efforts in organizing an emergency nursing service (Dahlman 2). Nightingale started off at first with forty women, some of whom were Sisters of Religious Nursing Orders and others hospital-taught women of the old school, not trained in the modern way, but experienced (Dahlman 3). Florence Nightingale founded the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas’ Hospital which was the parent of the modern system of nursing. From her, therefore, we may well date the story of nursing service of the American Red Cross (Dahlman 4).

The philosophy of nursing started off with the beginning of times, Florence Nightingale, the mother of nursing, carried out her beliefs on what she thought was important during the Crimean War in 1854. She implemented standards of practice that are still carried out today. From thereon, the goals of nursing have remained the same, to provide a caring and safe environment that promotes patient health and well-being. Nursing is focused on caring for the individual, family and the community. Also, being compassionate and trying to understand the client on an emotional, physical, and spiritual level.

Nurses are health care providers, who provide care for the sick and injured, “but their titles often depend on who or where they work” (Bureau). These healthcare providers can focus on a specific health condition, a specific part of the body, specific group of people, or a specific workplace. “They provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members” (Bureau). Normally, nurses work inside where the temperature is usually low to prevent infection and germs from spreading easily. While many have become fond of this immense occupation, studies show that the nursing will become quite popular. US News and World Reports states, “The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the profession to grow 19% by 2022,

Over the past two decades, EBP has expanded on Florence's theories. EBP constitutes the combination of clinical expertise, patient values, and research evidence when making decisions about patient care. In the 1990's, it was determined that just increasing knowledge was not sufficient for improving patient outcomes. To obtain better patient outcomes "new knowledge must be transformed into clinically useful forms, effectively implemented across the entire care team within a systems context,

Florence Nightingale is one of the most influential and renowned person in nursing due to her contribution to the practice of what nursing is today from her theories, literatures, schools, etc. resulting for her to be called “the mother of modern nursing”. The book to be reviewed in this paper is by Reef (2017) entitled Florence Nightingale: The courageous life of the legendary nurse. The author of this paper with her background as a nurse knows how big Nightingale’s impact was for nursing and hopes she could be an influential leader in this field as well. Because of the curiosity of what Nightingale’s real history was, what are the works and accomplishments she has done, and what lead her to be one of the great leaders in nursing opted for the selection of this book. As the title of the book implies, the life of Florence Nightingale was narrated in this book from her birth to death. It included her love and passion for nursing, as well as, the struggles and achievements she has encountered and done to be a successful nurse and leader in this field. This paper will explore how Nightingale adopted leadership as a vocation; theoretical framework, style, leadership traits she practiced will also be examined; together with the qualities she emulated to inspire followership; and shortcomings of her leadership approach that the author of this paper will try to overcome.

Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was born in Florence, Italy in 1820 to an upper class family. Although her familial affluence guaranteed her a life of luxury and leisure, Nightingale felt a greater calling to improve society. She refused to succumb to the societal standards of the Victorian era because she found providing care for others was more meaningful and satisfying than the mundane domestic lifestyle. Florence Nightingale was one of the most impactful pioneers of nursing practice, because she modernized hospitals to create a better environment for the patients to heal, educated fellow nurses, reformed statistics in health, and started a social reform within public health.

One of the most unrevealed facts about Florence nightingale is that she encountered several obstacles during her nursing career. The medical profession was not supportive of her holistic approach to healing. During the Crimean war, many soldiers were dying of preventable diseases due to poor sanitations and inhuman condition. She proposes way to improve the survival rate of the wounded soldiers. But she encountered resistance in the military. According to Simkin, J., (2014) many members of the military and doctors objected to her ideology to revitalize the medical setting for the hospitalized soldiers.

For the longest time women were never looked up to be hero’s. Women were always given a roll and expected to follow it, that being to marry and have kids, not ever having to truly work. Then, there was Florence Nightingale who believed at an early age, that she could make a difference. In analysis of historical images and poems, Florence Nightingale was represented as a courageous and helpful woman. Propaganda during this time period played a huge role in advertising Nightingale and her accomplishments. Florence Nightingale took a stand during the 1850’s often portrayed as someone who couldn’t succeed in the path she wanted to follow. However, Nightingale quickly earned the nickname “The lady with the lamp” and drastically changed the

Florence Nightingale was a revolutionary nurse who greatly affected 19th and 20th-century policies around proper care. She was known for her night rounds to aid the wounded, and would later be known as the “Lady with the Lamp.” Being part of one of the wealthiest families of the time, Nightingale defied expectations and pursued a career in nursing. During the Crimean War, she and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds! Based on her observations during the war, Nightingale wrote Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army, and a 830-page report analyzing her experience and proposing reforms for other military hospitals operating under poor conditions. These writings would spark a total restructuring of the War Office's administrative department, including the establishment of a Royal Commission for the Health of the Army in 1857.

Florence Nightingale has been influential in my nursing career for some time. Early on in nursing school exposure to her example of bravery and determination which resulted in the practices that we continue today has promoted and encouraged many to do the same. Not only did she impact lives through her techniques, she also legitimized the career of nursing which prior to that was often seen as little more than low class maids in the hospital setting.

Florence Nightingale, or as soldiers on the battlefield would call her the “Lady with the Lamp”, was an inspirational women of the nineteenth century that had many aspirations and dreams concerning the care of others. Achieving these dreams by “facilitating the reparative processes of the body by manipulating the patient’s environment” (Potter & Perry 2009, p. 45); Nightingale laid the foundations of modern nursing and gave the country and many others a system that has stood the test and remains timeless. In this, Florence has become one of the most widely known nursing theorist to this day.

Known as the “the lady with the lamp”, Florence Nightingale 1820 -1910 was one of the pioneering theorists in the nursing history. She was the first to provide a theory to improve and develop health and transform nursing from a domestic service to a permanent profession. Since a young age, she cared for the poor and ill people and considered nursing and serving humans as a Christian duty (Selanders, 2012). Her contribution in providing nursing care for British soldiers fighting the Crimean War and negotiating with the male worlds of both the military and medicine with her administrative skills was significant (Woodham-Smith, 1983). Nightingale founded the Nightingale Nursing School in London in 1860 and created the foundation theory for practice and education of the nursing world. She played an important role in promoting nursing as an essential and educational element for public health through her inspiring letters and publications.

Recognized as the first nursing theorist, Florence Nightingale’s vast contributions to nursing laid a foundation of theories, beliefs, education, and evidence-based practice propelling a once disparaged occupation into a respected profession. Her environmental theory arose from thoughts and reflections based on personal experiences and observations. Nightingale did not set out to create nursing theory but to provide suggestions for women who may find themselves presiding over the health of another. This paper will discuss Nightingale’s theory using a stepwise approach.

Throughout Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale expresses the importance of proper care to patients. Another factor of nursing that was effected by Nightingale is the professionalism of nursing and how nursing is not only a science, but an art. Nightingale states how numerous subjects in nursing should be improved upon. The specific chapters that show how Nightingale has improved nursing within Notes on Nursing were Light, Personal Cleanliness, Chattering Hopes and Advices, and Ventilation and Warming. In chapter 9, Light, Florence Nightingale emphasizes the impact of sunlight on the patient and how it improves their health. Personal cleanliness was reviewed in chapter 11. Nightingale explores the importance cleanliness has on a patient. Within chapter 12, Nightingale states how to properly advise the sick, as well as give hope to patients. In chapter 1, Ventilation and Warming, Nightingale states the need for pure air within a patient’s room. These chapters express the importance of properly taking care of patients. The focus of this paper is how it was applied during Nightingale’s time and how it is still relevant today in nursing practice. The chapters within Notes on Nursing have had a profound impact on the practice of nursing today.

The nursing profession was highly influenced by the daughter of a wealthy British family, Florence Nightingale. Nursing didn’t develop until the 19th century. Before, people did not know about all the bacteria and diseases that could be spread in hospitals. Nightingale, however, spent her days keeping hospitals clean and sanitized. Because the growth of hospitals and nursing started during the Crimean war, several soldiers either got injured or ill. Nightingale as well kept them healthy and nutritious. She was extremely dedicated to her job. She became very well-known in many countries including the United States. Overtime, nursing schools and employment of nursing has increased rapidly thanks to Florence Nightingale (Registered 1).