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Nightingale Pledge Essay

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I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care. (American Nurses Association, 2016) Most nurses today will recognize the above quotation as The Nightingale Pledge. The nursing community has used this pledge as a Hippocratic oath since its creation in 1893 by Lystra Gretter (American Nurses Association, 2016). In most instances nursing students, nearing the end of nursing school, hear this pledge mentioned numerous times and repeat these words on graduation night. Upon graduation, and swearing the above quotation, many new graduate nurses have no idea what their personal philosophy of nursing is and therefore take the above pledge and mold their philosophy around what is already known. That is true for me in my own practice. Upon standing on stage on graduation night in front of my family, friends, and the community I would care for I was unsure of what my philosophy of nursing was. Now, two years and many

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