The Leadership and Legacy of Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) has a rich legacy full of multiple accomplishments that have changed nursing practice. In her time she is known for her management skills and ability to lead others in a direction that would show interrelationships between environmental factors that affect a patents overall health. She was the first nurse statistician and well as a groundbreaking theorist of her time. Florence kept meticulous records of her knowledge and observations that have provided written accounts of her findings, thoughts, correlations and observations. These writings have enriched the profession of nursing ever since.
Nightingale is arguable the most influential nurses in the history of the profession. Prior to her lifetime and entry into the nursing profession there was not any “theory” in the nursing profession. “In the Victorian era, nursing was considered to be a lowly and menial profession in England…” (""The lady with the lamp" And Her Contribution to Modern Nursing"", 2015). Florence had experiences that influenced her theories thus changing the way nursing care was delivered. One example of this observation turned nursing theory was unsanitary conditions during the Crimean War of 1853. Nightingale was caring for patients who had Cholera. She formed the theory that the fatality rate was influenced by the unsanitary conditions of the hospitals during that time. According to "the lady with the lamp" and her contribution to modern nursing"" (2015), “…Nightingale found patients laying in their own excrement, rodents and other pests scurrying among them, a complete lack of sanitary conditions, which made infectious disease the number one killer of soldiers rather that battle wounds.” It was throughout her work as a nurse epidemiologist and statistician that she devolved measures that changed the outcomes of multitudes of soldiers’ lives. The fatality rate when Nightingale arrived at the hospital during the Crimean war was 42.7%. This rate had dropped to an amazing 2.7% mortality rate in just a few months after her arrival (Ellis, 2008). The surprising decline in mortality rate was attributed to activities such as throughout cleaning. Nightingale cleaned the patient rooms, removed raw sewage from the rooms, encouraged nurses to begin washing their hands several times per day, changing the bed linens of the sick, and increasing room ventilation. “This is incredible because at the time microbes and the chain of infection was not well known” (Ellis, 2008). The environmental changes that Nightingale theorized about were just a small piece of the observations and achievements that she started. …show more content…
There were other concepts that she is responsible for such as communication with the patient, including assessment of the patient’s perception of what might be causing their illness, and comfort and counseling for the dying patient to discuss a few additional measures she incorporated into nursing practice. The many new ideas that Nightingale implemented during her time had lasting effects that can be seen today. Nightingale was also heavily interested in patient advocacy. Throughout her work she noted differences in how patients were treated. At one time only patients who were member of the Church of England were admitted to the hospitals. Nightingale won the battle with the “ladies Committee and was able to see that patients of all faiths could be equally admitted to hospitals for care (Selanders & Crane, 2012). In one instance Nightingales diaries of nursing observations were referenced when other theorist were developing their own theories. Dorothea E. Orem was impacted by Nightingales work. She …show more content…
Tomlin, and Mary Ann P. Swain. Their theory “is an interpersonal and interactive holistic theory of nursing that requires the nurse to assess, plan, and intervene on the basis of the client’s perspective of the world” (George, 2011, Chapter 20, The Theory of Modeling and Role-Modeling). Nightingale also felt that it was important to discuss with the patient what their views were of their illness in an open ended way, careful not to lead the patient in any way. She also noted how important assessment and observation were to the patient’s overall care. While Erickson, Tomlin and Swain developed a much more in-depth theory about what affects patients’ perception, including the patients’ view of the world around them the basis of patient centered care accompanied by the patients’ perceptions was an essential function identified by
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) has a rich legacy full of multiple accomplishments that have changed nursing practice. In her time she is known for her management skills and ability to lead others in a direction that would show interrelationships between environmental factors that affect a patents overall health. She was the first nurse statistician and well as a groundbreaking theorist of her time. Florence kept meticulous records of her knowledge and observations that have provided written accounts of her findings, thoughts, correlations and observations. These writings have enriched the profession of nursing ever since.
Nightingale is arguable the most influential nurses in the history of the profession. Prior to her lifetime and entry into the nursing profession there was not any “theory” in the nursing profession. “In the Victorian era, nursing was considered to be a lowly and menial profession in England…” (""The lady with the lamp" And Her Contribution to Modern Nursing"", 2015). Florence had experiences that influenced her theories thus changing the way nursing care was delivered. One example of this observation turned nursing theory was unsanitary conditions during the Crimean War of 1853. Nightingale was caring for patients who had Cholera. She formed the theory that the fatality rate was influenced by the unsanitary conditions of the hospitals during that time. According to "the lady with the lamp" and her contribution to modern nursing"" (2015), “…Nightingale found patients laying in their own excrement, rodents and other pests scurrying among them, a complete lack of sanitary conditions, which made infectious disease the number one killer of soldiers rather that battle wounds.” It was throughout her work as a nurse epidemiologist and statistician that she devolved measures that changed the outcomes of multitudes of soldiers’ lives. The fatality rate when Nightingale arrived at the hospital during the Crimean war was 42.7%. This rate had dropped to an amazing 2.7% mortality rate in just a few months after her arrival (Ellis, 2008). The surprising decline in mortality rate was attributed to activities such as throughout cleaning. Nightingale cleaned the patient rooms, removed raw sewage from the rooms, encouraged nurses to begin washing their hands several times per day, changing the bed linens of the sick, and increasing room ventilation. “This is incredible because at the time microbes and the chain of infection was not well known” (Ellis, 2008). The environmental changes that Nightingale theorized about were just a small piece of the observations and achievements that she started. …show more content…
There were other concepts that she is responsible for such as communication with the patient, including assessment of the patient’s perception of what might be causing their illness, and comfort and counseling for the dying patient to discuss a few additional measures she incorporated into nursing practice. The many new ideas that Nightingale implemented during her time had lasting effects that can be seen today. Nightingale was also heavily interested in patient advocacy. Throughout her work she noted differences in how patients were treated. At one time only patients who were member of the Church of England were admitted to the hospitals. Nightingale won the battle with the “ladies Committee and was able to see that patients of all faiths could be equally admitted to hospitals for care (Selanders & Crane, 2012). In one instance Nightingales diaries of nursing observations were referenced when other theorist were developing their own theories. Dorothea E. Orem was impacted by Nightingales work. She …show more content…
Tomlin, and Mary Ann P. Swain. Their theory “is an interpersonal and interactive holistic theory of nursing that requires the nurse to assess, plan, and intervene on the basis of the client’s perspective of the world” (George, 2011, Chapter 20, The Theory of Modeling and Role-Modeling). Nightingale also felt that it was important to discuss with the patient what their views were of their illness in an open ended way, careful not to lead the patient in any way. She also noted how important assessment and observation were to the patient’s overall care. While Erickson, Tomlin and Swain developed a much more in-depth theory about what affects patients’ perception, including the patients’ view of the world around them the basis of patient centered care accompanied by the patients’ perceptions was an essential function identified by