Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Call to Nursing— Reflections of Florence Nightingale
Glenda Bronson, RN
At the recent Celebrating Nurses dinner we spent the evening in the company of many of our nurse colleagues and friends. This night was truly a wonderful and nurturing experience. As I reflected on the evening I returned to my copy of Florence Nightingale— Mystic, Visionary, Healer by Barbara Dossey. I would like to share a few excerpts from the book.
Since the age of six Florence knew that nursing was her vocation and by the age of 16 she had seen it as her Divine Call. Even as a little girl she was independent, and her call to nursing emerged as she nursed her sick dolls. Finally at the age of 31– overcoming many obstacles, illnesses, family problems, and the place of women in society she was able to complete her nursing training at the Institution of Deaconesses at Kaiserswerth. It was here that she connected mind, body, and soul. Advanced for its time the institution ensured quality care for very sick patients as well as rehabilitation for orphans, prostitutes, and others, teaching them the skill needed to lead a useful life. Florence recorded pages of notes, including details on staff motivation, effective delegation of responsibility, meaningful controls, and measurable outcomes. During the Crimean war Florence was an incredible forcecaring for the sick, establishing sanitation procedures and quality of care standards. The soldiers were very grateful to her—
”By all accounts, Nightingale had a rare healing presence among the soldiers, conveying hope in a way that helped them endure pain and suffering. Some soldiers even likened her to Joan of Arc. What a comfort it was to see her pass. She would speak to one and nod and smile to as many more; but she could not do it to all, you know. We lay there by hundreds; but we could kiss her shadow as it fell, and lay our heads on the pillow again, content.”
We have an awesome heritage and strong roots in our nursing profession. I am proud to be a nurse and to be among nurses who carry on the compassion and spirit of nursing as did Florence Nightingale.
”By all accounts, Nightingale had a rare healing presence among the soldiers, conveying hope in a way that helped them endure pain and suffering. Some soldiers even likened her to Joan of Arc. What a comfort it was to see her pass. She would speak to one and nod and smile to as many more; but she could not do it to all, you know. We lay there by hundreds; but we could kiss her shadow as it fell, and lay our heads on the pillow again, content.”
We have an awesome heritage and strong roots in our nursing profession. I am proud to be a nurse and to be among nurses who carry on the compassion and spirit of nursing as did Florence Nightingale.
Florence Nightingale
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Was fluent in Latin, Greek French, German, and Italian. -
Her heroic nursing efforts in the Crimean war inspired Dunant to organize and launch the Red Cross.
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Nightingales’ Notes on Nursing , 1860, was a foundation for nursing practice and is still in use today. It has been translated into 11 languages.