Florence Nightingale : An Intellectual Profession

As time changes so does the nursing profession. From the early 1900’s until now nursing has evolved and has become more complex and well educated. Due to technology, advanced medicine, and having more skills acquired nursing has blossomed into a worthy profession. From caregiving, being a decision maker, communicator, patient advocate, and teacher nursing has more then one role in patient care.

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 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.

Evidence based practice, “involves integrating the best available research evidence with professional expertise while also taking account of patient preferences the patients state setting and circumstance and health care resources” (Gerrish, K. Lathlean, J, 2015). As the health care profession constantly changes, then it is vital that all evidence based practice is kept up to date with current information and research, relating to nursing practice. Always assuring that the patients need are taken into consideration (Sackett et al, 1996).

According to the American Nurses Association, “Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (ANA, 2010b). Nursing has come a long ways. From primitive times when caring for the sick was predominantly the rule of medicine-men who acquired the skills from their ancestors, to the era when it was viewed as a mean profession for prostitutes and nowadays when it is considered a noble profession with trained and skilled personnel.

Evidence Based Practice is a principle that is centered on the improvement of patient care and outcomes, by introducing and researching current based evidence when making decisions for that patient. According to Johnston (2016), “Health-care practitioners are increasingly being encouraged to implement research evidence into practice in order to ensure optimal patient outcomes and provide safe, high-quality care”. Throughout the course of this class, whether it be from researching about Evidence Based Practice, or the implementation of nursing care delivery models, patient care and the way we treat our patients is at the forefront of change. We know that change is necessary, now it is just a matter of how to implement that change into the healthcare

As every patient is unique and has his/her own condition, nurses and other health care providers need a source to follow as a guideline. Evidence based practice can be used as good guideline for health care provider, and it also can show different ways of care and their results. Evidence based practice has a huge role in the world of nursing profession. One of the biggest goals of nurses is to apply the evidence into their practice in a right way, even though a lot of nurses could not apply the evidence into their practice in the right way. ((Schmidt & Brown, 2015). Role of a professional nurse is to implement the evidence into practice in a right way, and create the right result from it. There are a lot aspects involved in evidence based practice

The use of evidence based practice is extremely important so that nurses can provide the best possible, and safest care to our patients. Evidence based practice can be defined as the practice of nursing in which interventions are based on data from research that demonstrates that they are appropriate and successful (Catalano pg. 6). It is required in order to achieve the highest quality and most cost –effective care for our patients.

When one hears the name, Florence Nightingale, the word nurse is instantly paired with it because of her contributions to nursing. Florence Nightingale became a national heroine after nursing the British troops at Scutari in the Crimean War during 1854-56 and became a pioneer for nursing using sanitary and administrative techniques. According to editor, Lynn McDonald, in Florence Nightingale- An Introduction to Her Life and Family: Collected Works of Florence Nightingale, Vol. 1, “Nightingale’s work on the foundation of nursing was a life-long preoccupation, but it was a part of a broader concern to reform public healthcare, prevent disease, and promote health” (84). However, many historians believe her ignorance of sanitation caused the death toll at Scutari to rise.

Thanks to the advancements in medicine, the healthcare industry has been able to care for our patients more effectively. Nurses have played a significant role in these advancements through evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice “integrates the best available evidence to guide nursing care and improve patient outcomes. This helps health practitioners address health care questions with an evaluative and qualitative approach” (AMSN). That goes without saying that nursing care has changed dramatically since the time Florence Nightingale was practicing.

As a nurses I will rely on research findings to help in my practice decisions, I will use critical thinking to apply research directly to specific patient care situations. The research process allows me as a nurses to ask and answer questions systematically that will ensure that decisions are based on sound science and rigorous inquiry. Research will help me in a variety of settings answer questions about patient care, education, and administration. Research ensures that practices are based on evidence, rather than eloquence or tradition. The call for evidence-based quality improvement and healthcare transformation underscores the need for redesigning care that is effective, safe, and efficient. As a new nurse I believe that evidence contribute to effective care of the patient, I will use evidence to reduce the rate of morbidity and mortality. According to the textbook evidence can help healthcare professionals avoid making errors in decision making relative to patient care. Using research decreases the need for trial and error, which is time consuming and may prove counterproductive.

Florence Nightingale was an influential pioneer who helped develop the medical industry into what it is today. Nightingale was born into a rich, high-class family in Florence, Italy and was named after her birth-city, like her sister Parthenope. At a very young age, she exhibited a gift for mathematics and overall excelled academically. Her father, William Nightingale often tutored her, making it one of the main reasons to Florence’s academic success. In 1838, Nightingale’s father took the family on a tour in Europe where she met Mary Clarke. The two instantly bonded, but little did they know they would remain close friends for over forty years, despite their twenty-seven year age difference. Almost one year earlier, Nightingale

Florence Nightingale, a well-educated nurse, was recruited along with 38 other nurses for service in a hospital called Scutari during the Crimean War in 1854 . It was Nightingale's approaches to nursing that produced amazing results. Florence Nightingale was responsible for crucial changes in hospital protocol, a new view on the capabilities and potential of women, and the creation of a model of standards that all future nurses could aspire towards.

We all hear the word caring but what does caring really means? What does caring mean to you? How can care help heal the sick? These are many questions we can ask ourselves and the answers can be different for every person. To the world caring is probably the first description that comes to mind when describing a nurse. Yourdictionary.com describes caring as, “being someone or something that shows kindness and concern for others” (Yourdictionary.com, 2015). Nurses take care of patients and caring is one of their skills that is required to provide patient centered care though out their profession. This essay describes how caring can be so much more then just being loving and kind, how caring has been around for centuries and how nurses can avoid experience compassion burnout.

On May 12, 1820 Florence Nightingale was born to William Edward and Frances Nightingale. Florence lived a comfortable life and was well educated. She was never happy with the normal female skins but prefered to have discussions about politics and social discourse with her father. When she was sixteen she said she got a “calling from god” telling her to serve the sick and God; Florence thought nursing was the answer to that. Her parents and family didn’t believe that nursing was an inappropriate behavior for women. Despite her family’s ideas Florence was able to enroll in the institution of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserswerth in Germany for a two week long training class. Through her family connections Florence landed a job working as superintendent of the Institution for Sick Gentlewomen. As superintendent Florence was able to showcase her skills and was then so recruited to gather a group of nurses to travel to Crimea to help in the hospitals on the military bases. Florence Nightingale embodied the qualities of the Grad at Grad because she had a strong work ethic, the ability to gain trust that facilitated the development of leadership and promoted justice.