The Voice of Florence Nightingale on Advocacy
The Voice of Florence Nightingale on Advocacy
Modern nursing is complex, ever changing, and multi focused. Since the time of Florence Nightingale, however, the goal of nursing has remained unchanged, namely to provide a safe and caring environment that promotes patient health and well being. Effective use of an interpersonal tool, such as advocacy, enhances the care-giving environment. Nightingale used advocacy early and often in the development of modern nursing. By reading her many letters and publications that have survived, it is possible to identify her professional goals and techniques. Specifically, Nightingale valued egalitarian human rights and developed leadership principles and practices that provide useful advocacy techniques for nurses practicing in the 21 century. In this article we will review the accomplishments of Florence Nightingale, discuss advocacy in nursing and show how Nightingale used advocacy through promoting both egalitarian human rights and leadership activities. We will conclude by exploring how Nightingale's advocacy is as relevant for the 21 century as it was for the 19 century.
Nursing has never been simple. Early care stressors included exposure to the elements and a lack of knowledge as to how to treat serious injuries or diseases. Through ensuing generations, environmental conditions have improved and science has provided effective treatment pathways. However, other complexities, including societal acceptance of the profession, gender discrimination, and educational and regulatory disarray, have created a multifaceted and complicated backdrop against which nurses continue to provide the most basic of human interventions: caring.
In the nineteenth century, one woman, because of her religious convictions and profound vision of the potential of nursing, altered the status of nursing from that of domestic service to that of a profession (Nightingale, 1893/1949; Nightingale, 1895a). This woman, Florence Nightingale, utilized intellect, personal motivation, available opportunities, and the strength of her own persona to create a permanent professional transformation (Bostridge, 2008; Cook, 1913; Dossey, 2000). One of the most effective tools that she employed was advocacy, both for individuals and for the nursing collective. The purpose of this article is to explore Nightingale's use of advocacy as a tool and to identify the continuing value of her conceptual and practical advocacy strategies for the nursing profession in the 21 century. In this article we will review the accomplishments of Florence Nightingale, discuss advocacy in nursing, and show how Nightingale advocated both through promoting egalitarian human rights and through her leadership activities. We will conclude by exploring how Nightingale's advocacy is as relevant for the 21 century as it was for the 19 century.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Modern nursing is complex, ever changing, and multi focused. Since the time of Florence Nightingale, however, the goal of nursing has remained unchanged, namely to provide a safe and caring environment that promotes patient health and well being. Effective use of an interpersonal tool, such as advocacy, enhances the care-giving environment. Nightingale used advocacy early and often in the development of modern nursing. By reading her many letters and publications that have survived, it is possible to identify her professional goals and techniques. Specifically, Nightingale valued egalitarian human rights and developed leadership principles and practices that provide useful advocacy techniques for nurses practicing in the 21 century. In this article we will review the accomplishments of Florence Nightingale, discuss advocacy in nursing and show how Nightingale used advocacy through promoting both egalitarian human rights and leadership activities. We will conclude by exploring how Nightingale's advocacy is as relevant for the 21 century as it was for the 19 century.
Introduction
Nursing has never been simple. Early care stressors included exposure to the elements and a lack of knowledge as to how to treat serious injuries or diseases. Through ensuing generations, environmental conditions have improved and science has provided effective treatment pathways. However, other complexities, including societal acceptance of the profession, gender discrimination, and educational and regulatory disarray, have created a multifaceted and complicated backdrop against which nurses continue to provide the most basic of human interventions: caring.
In the nineteenth century, one woman, because of her religious convictions and profound vision of the potential of nursing, altered the status of nursing from that of domestic service to that of a profession (Nightingale, 1893/1949; Nightingale, 1895a). This woman, Florence Nightingale, utilized intellect, personal motivation, available opportunities, and the strength of her own persona to create a permanent professional transformation (Bostridge, 2008; Cook, 1913; Dossey, 2000). One of the most effective tools that she employed was advocacy, both for individuals and for the nursing collective. The purpose of this article is to explore Nightingale's use of advocacy as a tool and to identify the continuing value of her conceptual and practical advocacy strategies for the nursing profession in the 21 century. In this article we will review the accomplishments of Florence Nightingale, discuss advocacy in nursing, and show how Nightingale advocated both through promoting egalitarian human rights and through her leadership activities. We will conclude by exploring how Nightingale's advocacy is as relevant for the 21 century as it was for the 19 century.
