Florence Nighingale

Florence Nightingale’s book, “Notes on Nursing”, presented many interesting thoughts about the art and practice of nursing, most of which were progressive for her time. I found a great deal of her concerns and suggestions brilliant in that they are fundamental procedures and standards that are relevant to modern nursing practices. An obvious proponent of sanitation and cleanliness, she says, “Every nurse ought to be careful to wash her hands frequently throughout the day” (p.94). It is undeniable that impeccable hand hygiene is an absolute necessity that is demanded in the modern medical environment to spread of infectious diseases. She was observationally gifted as noted by the comment, “the offensive thing, not the smell must be removed” concerning sanitation (p.23). Fumigation was the standard in the mid-19th century, which provided no safety from dangerous microorganisms that thrived in primitive hospitals. Since her time, it has been scientifically proven that thorough cleanliness involves disinfection and/or aseptic techniques of most apparatus and surfaces that a patient will be exposed to during any hospital stay or medical procedure. She also states that a nurse “must be no vain-talker, she should never answer questions about her sick except to those who have the right…” (p.125). Current HIPPA legislation has since regulated the discussion of personal medical information, ensuring that nurses will maintain confidentiality on the patient’s behalf.
In contrast, she also presented many concepts that are outdated or have been proven false. For instance, she states with conviction that “…sugar is one of the most nutritive of all articles, being pure carbon…” (p.72). Sugar does have some nutritive value, though it is not composed of pure carbon nor recommended as the most nutritious substances. Suggesting that “organic chemistry is useful… by no means follows that we should learn in the laboratory any one of the reparative processes going on in disease”... [continues]

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