Florence Nightingale Ethically Reformed Nursing

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.

Florence Nightingale a systemic thinker and a “passionate statistician” (McDonald, 2001). According to McDonald (2001) Nightingales work in nursing and social reform was informed by religious faith or philosophy that favored a systemic approach. The goal of nursing has remained unchanged, since the time of Nightingales model, nursing is to provide a safe and caring environment that promotes patient health and well-being.

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.

Since nursing’s modern-day foundation by Florence Nightingale, members of the profession have hoped to achieve high ethical standards. Nightingale entered nursing at a point when there were no ethical standards in nursing. Florence Nightingale tried not only to change society’s image of nursing but additionally to express to those wanting to enter the profession that only those of high ethical standards were called to be nurses. The Nightingale Pledge written by Lystra Gretter in 1893 (Numminen .,2010).

In a time that was economically and socially dominated by men, Florence Nightingale was a female that overcame many obstacles and persevered to become a world renowned social reformer and the founder of modern nursing. By examining Nightingales life, it is easy to see how she dramatically redesigned the medical administration of Europe and became the face of modern nursing. This paper will examine Nightingales major achievements, the influence she had in the 19th century, ability to conform contemporary ideas, and finally how her accomplishments proved to be revolutionary within Europe and the world. Born into a wealthy family on May 12, 1820, she knew from an early age that she wanted to do enter into the medical field of work. Florence experienced many difficulties

A. Florence Nightingale’s advocacy for individuals started after her first nursing job as a superintendent in a hospital. The facility was in poor condition. She demonstrated advocacy for individuals by participating in “a healthcare situation under her control that allowed her to create and utilize environmental and patient care standards that were to become foundational to the development of modern nursing.” (Selanders & Crane, 2012).

For transformational leadership I chose, Florence Nightingalea nurse in the 19th century who almost single-handedly changed the horrible conditions that existed in the nursing profession and in hospitals. Before she took control, the nursing profession barely provided any training. But with her outstanding administrative skills, she supported those who wanted to become nurses and worked toward her mission to provide competent health care for all which she felt was a basic human right. She was the first to be appointed to administer a group of nurses sent to care for soldiers during the Crimean War.

Nursing has come a long way since the days of early civilization, with the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, playing a critical role in its development. Being a future nurse, I am inspired by Nightingale’s advocacy for nursing as a profession and her environmental theory which regards nursing as both science and art. Throughout my career, I intend to incorporate Nightingale’s theory into my core values in order to improve patient care.

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy on May 12, 1820. Even in her early life, Florence would find it necessary to help the sick people in her community. As the years went on Florence realized nursing was her future because it was her divine purpose. Her parents were not enthused by her plans to become a nurse and even prohibit her to pursue nursing. It was frowned upon in this time period of a woman with her social background to become a nurse. It was actually in the rights for her to marry a man of means, but when Florence was seventeen she declined to marry the man who offered her hand in marriage. She had her reasons for not accepting the proposal, she new she did not have time for a marriage at this time in her life.

Florence Nightingale is best known for her contributions to nursing, but she is also recognized for her contributions to data analysis and graphical representation of data.

Florence Nightingale saw nursing as an art and could not only see but place women in this role. Women, at the time of Nightingale’s vision, were neither employed nor educated by any means. (Alligood, 2010). My philosophy of nursing is to always see the beauty and know that beauty in nursing is attainable. As a Nurse, I will strive to cherish the tenacity that Florence Nightingale had for the profession and the determination to see more positive goals of the profession come to fruition. I will always believe and know that nursing started off under small plans but before us lay multiple stepping stones to an already firm foundation. If we believe in the strong, concrete strength to this

Nightingale has been a portion of my personal email address for over twenty years. As a nursing student Florence Nightingale’s foresight into patient needs and quality of care was a motivating factor in my own delivery of respect and quality to those and continues to be for those that I have had the honor to care for. Florence Nightingale’s impact on care provided in her time was significant then, but remains true today, having survived from the mid-1800’s to present day care. That is an impressive contribution. The specific “cannon” or standards of practice theories of Nightingale which include ventilation and warming, noise, variety, diet, light, chattering hopes and advise, and cleanliness impact all of us daily. The two standards that I hold close in my personal nursing practice are cleanliness for obvious reasons and chattering hopes.

Florence Nightingale was born in Italy on May 12, 1820 into a rich, upper class, wealthy and intellectual family. She believed she was “called by God to help others and to improve the well-being of mankind.” She was determined to become a nurse despite societal restrictions and opposition from her family. She received three months of training in nursing in Kaiserwerth in 1847. After studying in Paris with the Sisters of Charity,

Florence Nightingale introduced the importance of quality nursing care back in the 1850s, when she started using her knowledge of statists to evaluate the quality of nursing practices and patient outcomes (Burston, Chaboyer & Gillespie, 2013). Patient lives are impacted by the quality of nursing care delivered to them. Quality is defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) as “continually reducing the burden of illness, injury, and disability, and improving health and functioning by pursuing six major aims – safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficacy, and equity (2001). Nurses drive care practices that advance patients’ outcomes and enable effective inter professional partnership, while stewarding the efficient and effective use of resources (Dailey & Peterson, 2014). The profession is critical to the provision of better quality care coordination.