“National Hospital Day” by Macie N. Knapp
Macie N. Knapp, who was the superintendent of Brokaw Hospital at this time, saw an opportunity to spread awareness to the Illinois Wesleyan student body on the important contributions nurses have made in the modern hospital landscape during National Hospital Day on May 12th, 1937. She created this pamphlet with a strong emphasis on Florence Nightingale and the values she pursued during her time as a nurse. These Christian values would be used to educate future nurses so that their pursuit of servitude towards the ill would be pure in its intent. Illinois Wesleyan nursing students would instill these values into their education by saying “The Nightingale Pledge” during commencement. This pledge highlights the gentleness and sympathy nurses must bring to medicine so that patients feel comfortable turning to hospitals during times of sickness. Florence Nightingale was a pioneer of the nursing field, providing care and comfort for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. Her approach to nursing aligned with Victorian Ideals of Femininity in which female nurses would uphold the standards of the white, Christian woman. This entailed diligently following physicians’ orders and demanding obedience of her peers. One of her most notable contributions to the Crimean War was her campaign to improve sanitation and cleanliness in military and civilian hospitals. These concepts of the professional nurse and sanitary environments would later be taught in many nursing schools as a tribute to her success in rebuilding the nursing profession.
Knapp’s pamphlet highlights how these values created by Florence Nightingale directly impact modern hospitals due to the professionalism of nurses. She mentions how hospitals should be a distinctively Christian institution influenced by the actions of Christ, similar to the ideals Nightingale would follow during her tenure as a nurse. Her pamphlet maintains the idea that educating future nurses with these concepts would continually improve the hospital environment, making it a more hospitable and welcoming place for the sick and injured. While nursing education has moved away from the Victorian Ideals of Femininity practiced by Nightingale, the impacts she made on sanitation and cleanliness can still be seen today.
The Revolutionary Impact of Nightingale's Environmental Theory on Nursing
This is a video by The Danish Male Nurse about Florence Nightingale's environmental theory of nursing, which revolutionized the field of nursing in the mid-18th century. Nightingale's theory emphasized the importance of a clean and healthy environment in the care of patients and recognized the psychological impact of the environment on patients. Her emphasis on the environment's role in promoting health and preventing disease remains relevant today, and her legacy continues to inspire and inform healthcare practice worldwide.