Nursing Concepts of Virginia Henderson
Running Head: VIRGINIA AVENEL HENDERSON
Nursing Concepts of Virginia Avenel Henderson
Barbara Sullivan
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
NSG 316: Introduction to Professional Nursing Practice
University of Southern Mississippi
Fall Mini-Session, 2009
Abstract
This paper provides a biographical look at the life and work of Virginia Avenel Henderson. Her definition of nursing focused on the function of nursing as assisting the individual, sick or well, in attaining and maintaining health. Although Henderson never viewed her ideas as a theory, her beliefs remain a large part of the teachings of modern nursing. Henderson believed that her Nursing Studies Index was her most important contribution to the nursing profession.
Nursing Concepts of Virginia Avenel Henderson
Health care around the world has undergone extreme changes over the previous decades. However, the basic principles of nursing such as caring for the sick and elderly have remained the same. Many of those principles come from the teachings of Virginia Henderson. Virginia Avenel Henderson was born in 1897 in Kansas City, Missouri. She attended the Army School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1921 to become the first full-time nursing instructor in Virginia (Flynn, 1997). Having spent more than 60 years of her life as a nurse, teacher, author and researcher, she is referred to by some as the Florence Nightingale of the twentieth century. (Masters, 2009) Following the guidelines set by Nightingale, Henderson was a humanist who viewed education of patients and families as core to nursing care. Her theory of nursing brought to the forefront the idea of the nurse as a patient educator (Clark, 1997). Henderson may be most remembered for her definition of nursing, which has helped to shape the careers and philosophies of many nurses to follow her. According to Henderson, “The unique function of the nurse is to assist the
Nursing Concepts of Virginia Avenel Henderson
Barbara Sullivan
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
NSG 316: Introduction to Professional Nursing Practice
University of Southern Mississippi
Fall Mini-Session, 2009
Abstract
This paper provides a biographical look at the life and work of Virginia Avenel Henderson. Her definition of nursing focused on the function of nursing as assisting the individual, sick or well, in attaining and maintaining health. Although Henderson never viewed her ideas as a theory, her beliefs remain a large part of the teachings of modern nursing. Henderson believed that her Nursing Studies Index was her most important contribution to the nursing profession.
Nursing Concepts of Virginia Avenel Henderson
Health care around the world has undergone extreme changes over the previous decades. However, the basic principles of nursing such as caring for the sick and elderly have remained the same. Many of those principles come from the teachings of Virginia Henderson. Virginia Avenel Henderson was born in 1897 in Kansas City, Missouri. She attended the Army School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1921 to become the first full-time nursing instructor in Virginia (Flynn, 1997). Having spent more than 60 years of her life as a nurse, teacher, author and researcher, she is referred to by some as the Florence Nightingale of the twentieth century. (Masters, 2009) Following the guidelines set by Nightingale, Henderson was a humanist who viewed education of patients and families as core to nursing care. Her theory of nursing brought to the forefront the idea of the nurse as a patient educator (Clark, 1997). Henderson may be most remembered for her definition of nursing, which has helped to shape the careers and philosophies of many nurses to follow her. According to Henderson, “The unique function of the nurse is to assist the
References: Clark, D.J. (1997). The unique function of the nurse. International Nursing Review, 44 (5): 144-152. Flynn, K.T. (1997). I remember Virginia A. Henderson. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25 (3) 648-651. Halloran, E.J. (1996). Virginia Henderson and her timeless writings. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 23 (1) 17-24. Masters, K. (2009). Role development in professional nursing practice. Second Edition. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Tlou, S.D. (2001). Nursing: a new era for action. A Virginia Henderson memorial lecture. Nursing Inquiry, 8 (4) 240-245.