Nursing: Faye Glenn Abdellah

Historically, the nursing practice wasn’t seen as a professional job, but leaders such as Nightingale and Barton paved a path for the nursing practice to continue its growth and become stronger. Simple hand washing provided by Nightingale reduced infections caused by operations while Barton helped to establish the American Red Cross (Pearson, 2015) which to this day continues to provide aid to those in need around the world. Contemporary issues for nursing are typically within the healthcare setting.

“Nurses are more than caregivers in today’s healthcare settings. They are teachers, advocates and pioneers in improving healthcare. They are stepping out of the old model and taking ownership for changes in healthcare. Nurses are developing their own scientific research programs to improve patient care. They are playing a pivotal role in healthcare reform. Nurses are becoming leaders, not followers in healthcare reform.”

“The nurse has a basic concern for people as human beings, confidence in the fundamental power of personality for good, respect for religious beliefs of others, and a philosophy which will sustain and inspire others as well as herself” (ANA, 1940; p. 980). The documentary “The American Nurse”, explores some of the biggest issues the United States faces today- aging, war, poverty, and prisons- through the lives of five very different nurses and their work as health care providers. The film examines real life people in their everyday lives as nurses which changes the way one looks at and thinks about the entire concept of nursing. Nursing is not merely a job, nor is it simply an occupation or a profession. To be a nurse, one must uphold the finest of standards and ethics, dedicating their entire lives to helping and serving others. Therefore, it cannot simply be a behavior; it is a lifestyle.

However, when her career as a nurse started, it was not in the maternity ward. It started in general care, where she witnessed first-hand the disparity in care between male and female patients.

It was new knowledge for me that a woman, Lucy Osburn, had significantly contributed to the construction and development of nursing in Australia.

Nursing is a profession that has been around in one form or another since the beginning of civilizations. It has moved from an art that was handed down from generation to generation to the formal education and training programs of today. During this evolution, nursing has been influenced by four main themes: the folk, religious, military and servant images (Ellis, 2012, pp. 3-45, 71).

Lillian Wald was a pioneer for the nursing profession as well as an advocate for many unrecognized populations in the United States. Wald was passionate about people, especially the poor and overlooked (A+E, para.2). While working with the underprivileged she concluded that she could be doing more. During her nursing career she established many programs and reformed society in countless ways. Wald is mostly recognized for her pioneering in public health nursing, but she impacted nursing as a whole in a way that changed the profession forever.

The field of nursing has its origins dating back to the 19th century. This is when women reformers wanted to make a difference in social and political issues. To have an active voice in the process, these individuals had to have a strong sense of independence and determination. At the same time, many ethical beliefs shaped the views of individuals who wanted to make a difference (i.e.

American Nurses Association defines nursing as “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 population”( Potter,P.,& Perry, A. 2005,1-5). Thus making nursing dynamic and ever changing. However, when nursing

In November of 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health”. This special report examined the current state of nursing and changing landscape of the American healthcare system and offered recommendations for the future role nurses should play. The committee that released the report, Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, divided it into three parts. Part II of the study, focused on transforming the nursing profession in order to improve America’s healthcare system. In order to achieve this transformation, the committee recommended that nurses attain higher levels of education and training, practice to the full extent of that education and training, and assume more

The profession of nursing has matured from the time of Florence Nightingale. Nursing has gone from just treating dying soldiers on the battlefield to helping guide people through their entire lives from birth to death. The maturation of nursing has led to changes in nursing philosophy and allowed for practitioners of Nursing to meld these philosophies together to form their own philosophy. In this paper I will explain my philosophy of nursing and compare it to Virginia Henderson 's definition of nursing along with discussing some of the changes to Nurse philosophy I will also discuss some of the difficulties to being a patient advocate.

Throughout the history of nursing, nursing has evolved over time due to the impact of many women. These women have made a path that has both encouraged generations to follow in their footsteps, but also allow the best outcomes for them. Sister M. Berenice Beck’s greatest contributions to nursing were the development of the Code of Ethics and becoming the first female PhD and dean of nursing.

In life one has to take risks in order to bring forth a vision to life. Through risk taking, Faye G. Abdellah achieved her inner most dreams which was furthering the science of nursing research. Faye was a pioneer nursing researcher that helped transform nursing theory, nursing care and nursing education. In 1960, she was influenced by the desire to promote patient-centered comprehensive nursing care. Abdellah described nursing as a service to individuals, to families and therefore to the society. She was a rebel from the start in her efforts to promote nursing. Through time, she learned to disguise her rebellious leadership methods under the title “politically correct.” Even when faced with setbacks Faye continued to persevere and thrive for change (Houser & Player, 2004).

There is no doubt that the health care system is constantly changing and working to improve its flaws, to the best of its ability. Whether nurses like it or not we are a part of the ever changing health care system. “With more than 3 million members, the nursing profession is the largest segment of the nation’s health care workforce” (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010, p. 1). The Institute of Medicine believes that nurses should be active in transforming the profession of nursing, along with the health care system. Regardless, of backgrounds, race, and age all nurses can contribute to the future of the nursing profession. The following paper will discuss the Institute of Medicine’s nursing expectations and recommendations, as well as the opportunity to becoming a clinical nurse instructor.

The nursing profession has been around for a very long time. Through many changes and reforms, it has drastically evolved into the nursing profession we have today. Nurses have an important role within the healthcare industry in the treatment and medical care of the sick. These trusted healthcare professionals continue to make up the largest majority of the healthcare field, as well as the fastest growing occupation. Nursing is a job that allows people to not only care for the sick but also to experience, learn and further their interest in the human body. This course has definitely provided me an insight to the roots of the profession I would like to pursue. I think it is important to know the history of nursing to understand fully on the problems that are affecting the profession. I believe that we cannot effectively address important issues without a foundation of historical knowledge. In other words, by examining the nursing history, I will be able to appreciate my important role as a nurse in the healthcare system. The topics I will be including in my reflection are the works of Florence Nightingale, the affects of World War II, the challenges of Filipinos aspiring to be nurses, and excerpts in Chapter 10 of “A History of American Nursing.”