Florence Nightingale : An Important Aspect Of Professional Nursing Practice

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 went against her parents wishes of getting married and starting a family; she wanted to leave an impact on the world. She did just that by wanting to improve the profession of nursing and formed the framework for centuries to come. Florence Nightingale has been quoted with saying “every woman is a nurse”(Malka,2007). She believed nursing was a calling for women and that idea later turned nursing into the respectful and trustworthy that we know of today. The impact she left behind is greater than she could ever imagine.

Florence Nightingale was an immense impact on nursing, who “became famous for her revolutionary work as a nurse during the Crimean War” (Kent 30). “She dedicated her life to improving conditions in hospitals, beginning in an army hospital during the Crimean War,” (3 Registered). Her actions were then used by “concerned individuals, rather than by professionally trained nurses” during the Civil War, (Registered 279). Many of Nightingale’s ideas were brought into modern times, but with the improvement of technology and licensed nurses. With the influence and patience of Florence Nightingale, nursing has evolved into an outstanding career.

The concept of environment and its integral role in the delivery of nursing care was among the first identified and documented nursing theory since its early days. Florence Nightingale pioneered the profession of nursing and along with it, pioneered the concept of nursing theory. Her environmental theory was patient focused and incorporated five environmental components needed to promote health. Jarrin (2012) supported that the role of nursing is to promote the best possible environment for the patient to assist in their natural reparative process. According to Rahim (2013), as considered as the profession’s first nurse theorist, Florence Nightingale provided the essential foundation in environmental theory. She believed

Determine and obedient Florence Nightingale was born in Italy, May 12, 1820 and was named after the city she was born. Her mother, born in merchant family, took great pride in socializing with people, whereas “Florence herself was reportedly awkward in social situations and preferred to avoid being the center of attention whenever possible”(?). Florence Nightingale did not fit into Victorian lady position as well like her mother. She did not like active social life and be part of wealthy class. Her father was a wealthy landowner who inherited two estates in England. Florence Nightingale was provided wide variety of education including mathematics, German, French and Italian from her father. Anticipating her parents’ expectations, Florence Nightingale

There are many names that come to mind when we think of prominent figures in the field of nursing. Florence Nightingale, being the most famous of all, is known as “the angel of mercy”. She is known to have brought in the importance of the field of nursing and its effect on the care of the ill and disabled. But this is not about her, it is about Anna Caroline Maxwell. For her contributions to the field of nursing in the United States, she is known to be fondly referred to as the “American Florence Nightingale” (Hankin, E., n.d.). She is credited for the significance, importance and establishing a respected field of nursing in the United States of America.

Imagine a room in a hospital; you are lying on a bed, with linens since your admission, the room is very cold and dark at the same time, without proper ventilation. The bathroom you have does not have proper drainage; outside environment is as noisy as having a construction site as a neighbor. Health care providers come in just for the job and merely not care about you; their hands are not even clean and washed. Imagine these kinds of situation, what kind of environment are you having? Do you a place to heal or a place to die? Since the beginning of Modern Nursing, these scenes are commonly practiced and are usual in a way that it is considered a normal place to rest and be taken care of.

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.

Florence Nightingale, the founder of the Red Cross, was an incredibly passionate and honestly one of the most influential women to ever live. Nightingale lived in a higher class than most, however she decided that she would rather spend the rest of her days saving and aiding illness bound individuals who needed and could benefit from her assistance the most. Florence Nightingale, did not always know that her destiny was to save lives until she received a message from and God. The message from God sparked an idea in Nightingale’s head, so she set out on a journey throughout Europe and made a few observations throughout her travels abroad.

In the field of medicine, many can be considered to be exemplary leaders as their efforts have combined to help save millions of lives over the years. Their contributions have continued to preserve the lives of many people together with animals and plants. Increased understanding of how our bodies work has led to breakthroughs in medicine led by these capable leaders. Some of these leaders in medicine are not inventors or innovators like most in the field but they have contributed much in evolving medical services. Their selfless actions have revolutionized medicine and as such have etched their names in the proverbial Hall of Fame of medicine. One such person is Florence Nightingale, who is famously known as the pioneer of modern nursing as we know it.

Artillery shells shocked the air with insomnia-causing explosions. Bullets flew through soldiers’ bodies within the blink of an eye. The screams of agony came from thousands inside military medic camps, with many screams ending swiftly but painfully. The Crimean war took its toll on soldiers from states including the Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, and even the United Kingdom. Many soldiers died due to disease and lack of good medical care during battles. During this time period, many women were expected to maintain their house and take care of their children, rather than become a nurse or go into higher-level education. It was looked-down-upon for women to nurse on the battlefield as most women on the battlefield were seen as prostitutes.

On May 12, 1820 Florence Nightingale was born into a wealthy family located in Florence, Italy. In her family it was frowned upon to work outside the home, but as she grew up she often helped the poor and ill in her village. In Spring of 1844 Florence eventually came to conclusion that being a nurse was her God-given calling. Most people today would call becoming a nurse as a good goal, but back then it was the idea was considered impossible. The hospitals were a place where people avoided and it was dark and dirty. Florence wanted to change that all.

The concept of environment and its integral role in the delivery of nursing care was among the first identified and documented nursing concept since its early days. Florence Nightingale pioneered the profession of nursing and along with it, pioneered the concept of Nursing Theory. Her Environmental Theory was patient focused and incorporated five environmental components needed to promote health. Jarrin (2012) supported that the role of nursing is to promote the best possible environment for the patient to assist in their natural reparative process. It dates back from the time of ancient Greek philosophers and historians, including Plato, Hippocrates, and Aristotle, whose works are studied by Nightingale in her early years. According to Rahim (2013), as considered as the profession’s first nurse theorist, Florence Nightingale provided the essential foundation in environmental theory. She believed that some laws of nature, when applied and integrated into nursing care, can assist individuals in restoring their health during their illness, and, in those who are already healthy, promote health and prevent illness.

Nursing has been part of human society for a large and mostly undefined amount of years, with first records being in primitive societies. In such societies, the role of caregiver or nurse was often given to one at birth or shortly after birth. Not unlike today, most nurses were female, with these societies thinking that it has been the role of the females since they nurse and provide nurturance their infant. While a majority of them were female, males were also involved being medicine men and shamans. The treatments they supplied were often ineffective and irrelevant to the disease that the patient had.

This course really developed my self as a nurse, and it will help me in giving care to actual clients in the real world as well. First of all, this course taught us all about Florence Nightingale, who is viewed as one of the first nursing theorists. Her becoming a nurse, her practices as a nurse, her theory, her tenets, and most importantly, her being one of the most influential figures, even as of this very day. In this course, through essay writing we understood more about how Florence Nightingale’s theory and practices are still relevant today. We were able to connect her tenets to the real world programs. This can really help us in giving care because we learnt about how her practices are applied and so we are also able to apply her practices while providing clients care. Not only that, but we learned about how committed Nightingale was to provide the utmost care for the client and how the client is very important, with knowing this, we can also provide the greatest care that the client deserves. She strived for professional nursing and had laid the foundation, and we need to follow in these footsteps as well. Her achievements can aid in motivating us to become better and improve ourselves as a nurse everyday, as she did emphasize the importance of restoring one’s health.