A reasonable response. Nightingale's rules were an important step in raising standards for professional nursing, which was held in very low esteem (it was often a role filled by the completely untrained, with low or no sanitation practices) in mid-nineteenth-century England. But nearly three centuries later, it's up to us to see that these rules respond better to a changed situation.
It seems especially sad and ironic that in nursing this senseless and cruel rigidity is an extension of strictness that is a benefit in other areas. It is important to be strict about hygiene, handwashing, following safety procedures, checking and double-checking meds, etc. The problem comes when strictness starts to invade spheres where it has no business being. Forbidding certain hair and shoe colors?! Oof!
Similarly, it is so strange to me that some nurses demand submissiveness from new nurses, when nurses have rightly changed the hospital culture that had demanded they be submissive to doctors. You’d think they would engage in some self-reflection!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Theresa!
I'm just now reading the 2008 Nightingale biography by Mark Bostridge. It is far less a hagiography than anything I've read previously. The good, the bad, the ugly. She was an incredibly accomplished woman, but some of the accomplishments attributed to her have been mightily embellished. Ands she was clearly a product of her social status and time. I think it's the most thoroughly researched Nightingale biography to date.
I, too, had a lot of thoughts when I read the Flo biography. I found her rigidity to be quite disturbing and that is what (to me at least) persists in Nursing. An unwillingness to explore possibilities and alternatives is what I see and hear from so many in our profession to this day
I do not think Florence Nightingale can be blamed for the abysmal treatment you experienced when you started your nursing career. Nightingale’s behavior must be put in the historical context. We are fortunate that she developed our profession. Nurses should be more sensitive and never treat anyone the way you describe being treated. Four years ago I was a patient at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I observed that the nurses there were treated with care and respect. It was then reflected in the patient care they provided. I was so impressed that the nurses dressed in ways pleasing to them, had tattoos, and often playfully colored hair and multiple earrings. The focus and how they were judged was based upon the superlative care that they all provided. It is the responsibility of all nurses to be kind and respectful of their colleagues. That is the professional way to practice.
Theresa, this latest column was a thoughtful view of a situation I saw at times in my hospital work, along with interactions I witnessed between doctors and the nursing staff. While I often knew how to engage in the latter scenarios, I was unsure of how (and whether) to proceed in the former. I would appreciate your thoughts on that, especially since the prevailing sentiment in healthcare now is that we are all team players, even though there are different “team” chains of command.
A reasonable response. Nightingale's rules were an important step in raising standards for professional nursing, which was held in very low esteem (it was often a role filled by the completely untrained, with low or no sanitation practices) in mid-nineteenth-century England. But nearly three centuries later, it's up to us to see that these rules respond better to a changed situation.
It seems especially sad and ironic that in nursing this senseless and cruel rigidity is an extension of strictness that is a benefit in other areas. It is important to be strict about hygiene, handwashing, following safety procedures, checking and double-checking meds, etc. The problem comes when strictness starts to invade spheres where it has no business being. Forbidding certain hair and shoe colors?! Oof!
Similarly, it is so strange to me that some nurses demand submissiveness from new nurses, when nurses have rightly changed the hospital culture that had demanded they be submissive to doctors. You’d think they would engage in some self-reflection!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Theresa!
I'm just now reading the 2008 Nightingale biography by Mark Bostridge. It is far less a hagiography than anything I've read previously. The good, the bad, the ugly. She was an incredibly accomplished woman, but some of the accomplishments attributed to her have been mightily embellished. Ands she was clearly a product of her social status and time. I think it's the most thoroughly researched Nightingale biography to date.
I, too, had a lot of thoughts when I read the Flo biography. I found her rigidity to be quite disturbing and that is what (to me at least) persists in Nursing. An unwillingness to explore possibilities and alternatives is what I see and hear from so many in our profession to this day
I do not think Florence Nightingale can be blamed for the abysmal treatment you experienced when you started your nursing career. Nightingale’s behavior must be put in the historical context. We are fortunate that she developed our profession. Nurses should be more sensitive and never treat anyone the way you describe being treated. Four years ago I was a patient at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I observed that the nurses there were treated with care and respect. It was then reflected in the patient care they provided. I was so impressed that the nurses dressed in ways pleasing to them, had tattoos, and often playfully colored hair and multiple earrings. The focus and how they were judged was based upon the superlative care that they all provided. It is the responsibility of all nurses to be kind and respectful of their colleagues. That is the professional way to practice.
Theresa, this latest column was a thoughtful view of a situation I saw at times in my hospital work, along with interactions I witnessed between doctors and the nursing staff. While I often knew how to engage in the latter scenarios, I was unsure of how (and whether) to proceed in the former. I would appreciate your thoughts on that, especially since the prevailing sentiment in healthcare now is that we are all team players, even though there are different “team” chains of command.
Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving.