Florence Nightingale: Improving Nursing As A Practice Public Health Care System

Before Florence Nightingale started to improve nursing as a practice public health care system was underdeveloped. People who were living in urban areas didn’t have access to clean water and proper sewage disposal. Most of the sick people were treated at their homes and cared for by their family members. In the mid of 19th century Florence Nightingale started her mission to improve health care and create nursing as a profession. From her own experience and observations during Crimean War she became urgent to decrease high at this time mortality rate. As McDonald (2001) noted “Nightingale returned from the Crimean War with a conviction that the desperate loss of life she witnessed should never occur again” (p.68).
Florence Nightingale was
the first researcher in the nursing field and she believed in evidenced-based practice. As McDonald (2001) noted in his article “Let’s begin by looking at Nightingale as a systematic thinker and passionate statistician” (p.68). Florence Nightingale believed that many reforms are needed in order to improve health care quality and create professional nurses who are educated to provide care for those in need and do it with proper for this profession skills. She was able to transform health care despite many difficulties. Selanders and Crane (2012) described, “This woman, Florence Nightingale, utilized intellect, personal motivation, available opportunities, and the strength of her own persona to create a permanent professional transformation” (p.1). She was able to create nursing as a part of the health care.
What is more, Florence Nightingale was a real advocate for her patients. She utilized standards for nursing and patients care that are foundation for today’s nursing practice. Under her supervision care was provided for acutely sick as well as those who were chronically and mentally ill. Hospital became a clean place with access to clear water and fresh air. Her standards of care for patients were followed by her nurses and those who didn’t comply were dismissed (Selanders and Crane, 2012, p.4). After revolutionizing care in the hospitals, Florence Nightingale took her high standards into the community by creating district nursing. Nurses were sent to those in need in the community that they lived in and provide health services and education. Many organizations still utilize her ideas of caring for people in their community.