94-722: National Nurses United ( NNU ) is the largest organization of registered nurses in the United States . With more than 225,000 members, it is the farthest-reaching union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S. Founded in 2009 through the merging of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee , the United American Nurses , and the Massachusetts Nurses Association ,
188-583: A Bachelor of Science in Nursing . This is either achieved through a four-year university (or collaborative) program or through a bridging program for registered practical nurses or licensed practical nurses . Some universities also offer compressed programs for applicants already holding a bachelor's degree in another field. Prior to 2015, initial licensure as an RN required passing the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination (CRNE) offered by
282-552: A Foreign Language (TOEFL) if applicable, minimum SAT scores or TEAS . Students who wish to pursue either an ADN or a BSN in nursing must first fulfill the necessary liberal arts, math, and scientific prerequisites. Basic anatomy, physiology, biology, psychology, and anatomy are frequently required courses for nursing programs. A minimum "C" grade in these courses is frequently needed for admission to nursing schools. As of 2011, there are 2.24 million registered nurses in China. In 2014,
376-636: A bed for the night and got it; Seacole was in Scutari en route to the Crimea to join her business partner and start their business. However, Seacole pointed out that when she tried to join Nightingale's group, one of Nightingale's colleagues rebuffed her, and Seacole inferred that racism was at the root of that rebuttal. Nightingale told her brother-in-law, in a private letter, that she was worried about contact between her work and Seacole's business, claiming that while "she
470-478: A feature is correct — but the whole effect is more expressive of spiritual grandeur than anything I could have imagined. It makes the impression upon one that thousands of voices do, uniting in one unanimous simultaneous feeling of enthusiasm or emotion, which is said to overcome the strongest man." At Thebes, she wrote of being "called to God", while a week later near Cairo she wrote in her diary (as distinct from her far longer letters that her elder sister Parthenope
564-516: A field of practice. Depending on the jurisdiction, they may be responsible for supervising care delivered by other healthcare workers, including student nurses, licensed practical nurses , unlicensed assistive personnel , and less-experienced RNs. Registered nurses must usually meet a minimum practice hours requirement and undertake continuing education to maintain their license. Furthermore, certain jurisdictions require that an RN remain free from serious criminal convictions. Florence Nightingale
658-424: A little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds. The phrase was further popularised by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's 1857 poem "Santa Filomena": Lo! in that house of misery A lady with a lamp I see Pass through the glimmering gloom, And flit from room to room. Nightingale was nicknamed "the lady with the hammer" by the troops after using a hammer to break into locked storage to access medicine to treat
752-601: A manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War , in which she organised care for wounded soldiers at Constantinople . She significantly reduced death rates by improving hygiene and living standards. Nightingale gave nursing a favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture , especially in the persona of "The Lady with the Lamp" making rounds of wounded soldiers at night. Recent commentators have asserted that Nightingale's Crimean War achievements were exaggerated by
846-545: A national level since 2010, since the inception of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), which forms part of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Prior to 2010, Nursing registration in Australia was administered individually by each state and territory. The title 'Registered Nurse' (also known in the state of Victoria as a 'Division 1 Nurse') is granted to
940-455: A nurse who has successfully completed a board-approved course in the field of nursing, as outlined by education and registration standards defined by the NMBA. Registered Nurses are also required to meet certain other standards to fulfil registration standards as outlined by the NMBA, and these can include continuing professional development, recency of practice, criminal history checks and competency in
1034-718: A nursing pioneer in the US and Japan. By 1882, several Nightingale nurses had become matrons at several leading hospitals, including, in London ( St Mary's Hospital , Westminster Hospital, St Marylebone Workhouse Infirmary and the Hospital for Incurables at Putney ) and throughout Britain ( Royal Victoria Hospital , Netley ; Edinburgh Royal Infirmary ; Cumberland Infirmary and Liverpool Royal Infirmary), as well as at Sydney Hospital in New South Wales , Australia. In 1883, Nightingale became
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#17328630833111128-469: A politician who had been Secretary at War (1845–1846) who was on his honeymoon. He and Nightingale became lifelong close friends. Herbert would be Secretary of War again during the Crimean War when he and his wife would be instrumental in facilitating Nightingale's nursing work in Crimea. She became Herbert's key adviser throughout his political career, though she was accused by some of having hastened Herbert's death from Bright's disease in 1861 because of
1222-747: A pre-registration nursing program lasting not less than 3 years to enroll as registered nurses. Applicants trained outside Hong Kong must have a practicing certificate recognized by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong and pass the Licensing Examination for Registration. In the Republic of India nursing is regulated by the Indian Nursing Council . In Malaysia , nursing is regulated by the Ministry of Health Malaysia Nursing Division. Nursing in
1316-562: A prolonged correspondence with Irish nun Mary Clare Moore , with whom she had worked in Crimea. Her most beloved confidante was Mary Clarke , an Englishwoman she met in Paris in 1837 and kept in touch with throughout her life. Some scholars of Nightingale's life believe that she remained chaste for her entire life, perhaps because she felt a religious calling to her career. Florence Nightingale died peacefully in her sleep in her room at 10 South Street, Mayfair , London, on 13 August 1910, at
1410-590: A registered nurse in 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was $ 68,450.00 per year with a bachelor's degree. RNs can progress to become clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, or nurse anesthetists after obtaining a graduate nursing degree. In some states, the law allows nurses with higher-level degrees, such as Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) to work with increased autonomy, permitting them to practice limited medicine including sometimes even
1504-474: A single organization capable of exercising influence over the healthcare industry, governments, and employers." The executive director of the national organization, which is affiliated with the AFL–CIO , is labor leader Bonnie Castillo , who also heads the 90,000-member California Nurses Association. The former executive director is RoseAnn DeMoro , who serves as National Vice President and Executive Board Member of
1598-427: A strong desire to devote her life to the service of others. In her youth she was respectful of her family's opposition to her working as a nurse, only announcing her decision to enter the field in 1844. Despite the anger and distress of her mother and sister, she rejected the expected role for a woman of her status to become a wife and mother. Nightingale worked hard to educate herself in the art and science of nursing, in
1692-980: A world-wide shortage of 4.5 million nurses. Patients benefit from having a sufficient number of nurses to meet the clinic's or hospital's needs. As the number of nurses increases, the quality of life for the patients increases as well. Nurses are responsible for providing a high quality of care and maintaining the well-being of patients. With that being said, various situations cause nurses to feel overwhelmed. For example when an excessive workload results in missed nursing. An excessive workload can make errors and mishaps more likely. Insufficient time to complete tasks and inadequate staffing also contribute to missed aspects of nursing care. An indicator of an excessive workload correlates with missed nursing care and activities. Missed care and activities may cause nurses to feel stressed and anxious. Nurses often experience sleep disturbance which can result in lost sleep or inability to fall asleep. Nursing registration in Australia has been at
1786-462: Is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to obtain a nursing license . An RN's scope of practice is determined by legislation, and is regulated by a professional body or council . Registered nurses are employed in a wide variety of professional settings, and often specialize in
1880-512: Is also the ministry that keeps track of violations and can retract individual authorization. Nursing is a licensed professional occupation in Hong Kong . The profession is regulated by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong, a statutory body. Nurses in Hong Kong are divided into registered nurses and enrolled nurses, with the former requiring more extensive professional training. Applicants must complete
1974-481: Is an important sub-speciality within Australia and Registered Nurses with advanced practice skills and of which have undertaken further training, such as Pharmacotherapeutics for Remote Area Nurses (RAN's), Immunisation Certificate, Remote Emergency Care / Remote Pre Hospital Trauma Certification and Midwifery Emergency Care Courses, permit a generalist Registered Nurse to undertake an advanced scope of practice to operate autonomously within certain clinical situations under
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#17328630833112068-636: Is available through organizations such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center , a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association . After meeting the eligibility requirements and passing the appropriate specialty certification exam, the designation of Registered Nurse – Board Certified (RN-BC) credential is granted. Registered Nurses can work in a variety of settings including hospitals, physicians' offices, nursing homes, and home health care services. The median pay for
2162-596: Is provided by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. A BSN degree is preferred by many employers. To obtain state licensure, applicants must also meet clinical nursing requirements and pass the NCLEX-RN. Six weeks prior to graduation, students may submit an application for licensure and then sign up for the NCLEX-RN. Although associate degree programs are often two years, Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degrees frequently take three years to complete because of
2256-507: Is recognised as the knowledge which every one ought to have – distinct from medical knowledge, which only a profession can have". Notes on Nursing also sold well to the general reading public and is considered a classic introduction to nursing. Nightingale spent the rest of her life promoting and organising the nursing profession. In the introduction to the 1974 edition, Joan Quixley of the Nightingale School of Nursing wrote: "The book
2350-463: Is sometimes said to have denied the theory of infection for her entire life, a 2008 biography disagrees, saying that she was simply opposed to a precursor of germ theory known as contagionism . This theory held that diseases could only be transmitted by touch. Before the experiments of the mid-1860s by Pasteur and Lister , hardly anyone took germ theory seriously; even afterwards, many medical practitioners were unconvinced. Bostridge points out that in
2444-438: Is the availability of jobs; nurses are in high demand. Nursing also provides many different possibilities of employment, because with a nursing degree, there are many positions that fall under this category. Being able to explore multiple options gives someone the chance to find the most suitable job for themselves. Nurses are generally in demand around the world. The World Health organization estimates that by 2030 there will be
2538-781: The Crimean War , which became her central focus when reports got back to Britain about the horrific conditions for the wounded at the military hospital on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus , opposite Constantinople , at Scutari (modern-day Üsküdar in Istanbul ). Britain and France entered the war against Russia on the side of the Ottoman Empire . On 21 October 1854, she and the staff of 38 women volunteer nurses including her head nurse Eliza Roberts and her aunt Mai Smith, and 15 Catholic nuns (mobilised by Henry Edward Manning ) were sent (under
2632-625: The Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses, and the Florence Nightingale Medal , the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, were named in her honour, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday. Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women, and expanding
2726-545: The Nurses Registration Act . Nurses were required to complete three years of training and pass a state-administered examination. Registration ensured a degree of consistency in the education of new nurses, and the title was usually protected by law. After 1905 in California , for example, it became a misdemeanour to claim to be an RN without a certificate of registration. Today, typical requirements for an RN licence in
2820-500: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). In the US, a registered nurse is a professional clinician who has completed at least an associate degree in nursing or a hospital-based diploma program, followed by successfully completing the NCLEX-RN examination for initial licensure. Other requirements vary by state. More information about the NCLEX-RN examination and specific state nursing boards
2914-537: The pie chart , which had first been developed by William Playfair in 1801. While common now, it was at the time a relatively novel method of presenting data. Indeed, Nightingale is described as "a true pioneer in the graphical representation of statistics" and is especially well known for her usage of a polar area diagram , or occasionally the Nightingale rose diagram , equivalent to a modern circular histogram , to illustrate seasonal sources of patient mortality in
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3008-402: The 1870s, most people were cared for at home by family members. The view on nursing began to change as more medical advances were made during the end of the 19th century and leading into the beginning of the 20th century. When obtaining a nursing degree, there are personal benefits that come with it. One personal benefit is that nursing is a highly respected position. Another personal advantage
3102-597: The AFL–CIO. The organization backs a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare plan for the United States. To support a single-payer system, NNU leadership mobilized large-scale demonstrations demanding single-payer healthcare be included in the platform at the 2016 Democratic National Convention . National Nurses United has held numerous protests, including one in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and another on Wall Street , to protest privatization and profiteering in
3196-664: The BBC released documentaries that were critical of Nightingale's performance in the Crimean War, as were some follow-up articles published in The Guardian and the Sunday Times . Nightingale scholar Lynn McDonald has dismissed these criticisms as "often preposterous", arguing they are not supported by the primary sources. Nightingale still believed that the death rates were due to poor nutrition, lack of supplies, stale air, and overworking of
3290-416: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.) The lowest 10 percent of RN's earned less than $ 70,000, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $ 101,360 for 2015. Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale ( / ˈ n aɪ t ɪ ŋ ɡ eɪ l / ; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer , statistician and the founder of modern nursing . Nightingale came to prominence while serving as
3384-533: The Canadian Nurses Association. As of 2015, for initial licensure, Canadian RNs must pass the NCLEX-RN exam offered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. In Quebec, the 'Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec' (Quebec Order of Nurses) administers their own licensing exam for registration within the province. In Denmark, nurses are certified by the Danish Ministry of Health . It
3478-472: The English language. A nurse who is registered with the NMBA, and as such AHPRA, is free to practice in any state or territory in Australia, providing they meet the governing boards requirements and the individual state/territory legislative requirements, such as working with children checks and individual police checks for that state or territory. Educational requirements for an entry-level Registered Nurse are at
3572-476: The Lamp" from a phrase in a report in The Times : She is a "ministering angel" without any exaggeration in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow's face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all the medical officers have retired for the night and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with
3666-499: The NNU focuses on amplifying the voice of direct care RNs and patients in national policy. The union's policy positions include the enactment of safe nurse-to-patient ratios, patient advocacy rights at the Executive and State level, and legislation for single-payer health care to secure "quality healthcare for all, as a human right." The organization's goal is to "organize all direct care RNs into
3760-894: The Rhine, for the Practical Training of Deaconesses, etc. was her first published work. She also received four months of medical training at the institute, which formed the basis for her later care. On 22 August 1853, Nightingale took the post of superintendent at the Institute for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in Upper Harley Street , London, a position she held until October 1854. Her father had given her an annual income of £500 (roughly £40,000/US$ 65,000 in present terms), which allowed her to live comfortably and to pursue her career. Florence Nightingale's most famous contribution came during
3854-589: The Sanitary Commission had to be sent out by the British government to Scutari in March ;1855, almost six months after Nightingale had arrived. The commission flushed out the sewers and improved ventilation. Death rates were sharply reduced, but she never claimed credit for helping to reduce the death rate. Head Nurse Eliza Roberts nursed Nightingale through her critical illness of May 1855. In 2001 and 2008
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3948-1191: The United Kingdom is the largest health care profession in the country. It has evolved from assisting doctors to encompass a variety of professional roles. Over 700,000 nurses practice, working in settings such as hospitals , health centres , nursing homes , hospices , communities, military, prisons, and academia . Most are employed by the National Health Service (NHS). Nurses work across all demographics and care areas: adults, children, mental health, and learning disability. Nurses work in specialties across medicine, surgery, theatres, and investigative sciences such as imaging. Nurses also work in sub-specialities such as respiratory, diabetes, cancer, neurology, infectious diseases, liver, research , cardiac, women's health, sexual health, emergency and acute care, gastrointestinal, infection prevention and control, neuroscience, ophthalmic, pain and palliative, and rheumatology. Nurses often work in multi-disciplinary teams, but increasingly work independently. To practise, all nurses and nursing associates must be registered with
4042-507: The United States had approximately 2,751,000 registered nurses and Canada had just over 250,000. In the US and Canada this works out to approximately eight nurses per 1,000 people. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nursing jobs are projected to grow by 15% between 2016 and 2026, which is much faster than the average overall rate. The growth rate in the United States has a number of reasons, including an increased interest in preventive care, an increase in chronic illnesses, and
4136-488: The United States include earning either an associate degree (community college) or a baccalaureate degree (college or university) in nursing and passing an examination. Registration acts allowed authorities a degree of control over who was admitted to the profession. Requirements varied by location, but often included a stipulation that the applicant must be "of good moral character" and must not have mental or physical conditions that rendered them unable to practice. Before
4230-436: The acceptable forms of female participation in the workforce. Nightingale was an innovator in statistics; she represented her analysis in graphical forms to ease drawing conclusions and actionables from data. She is famous for usage of the polar area diagram , also called the Nightingale rose diagram, which is equivalent to a modern circular histogram . This diagram is still regularly used in data visualisation . Nightingale
4324-516: The age of 90. The offer of burial in Westminster Abbey was declined by her relatives and she is buried in the churchyard of St Margaret's Church in East Wellow , Hampshire, near Embley Park with a memorial with just her initials and dates of birth and death. She left a large body of work, including several hundred notes that were previously unpublished. A memorial monument to Nightingale
4418-598: The authorisation of Sidney Herbert) to the Ottoman Empire . On the way, Nightingale was assisted in Paris by her friend Mary Clarke . The volunteer nurses worked about 295 nautical miles (546 km; 339 mi) away from the main British camp across the Black Sea at Balaklava , in the Crimea . Nightingale arrived at Selimiye Barracks in Scutari early in November ;1854. Her team found that poor care for wounded soldiers
4512-404: The authority of Nightingale. The two were to remain friends for the rest of their lives. The second wave, headed by Mary Francis Bridgeman met with a cooler reception as Bridgeman refused to give up her authority over her Sisters to Nightingale while at the same time not trusting Nightingale, whom she regarded as ambitious. During the Crimean War, Nightingale gained the nickname "The Lady with
4606-480: The case of the Nightingale family and Florence in particular. She and Florence were to remain close friends for 40 years despite their 27-year age difference. Clarke demonstrated that women could be equal to men, an idea that Florence had not learnt from her mother. Nightingale underwent the first of several experiences that she believed were calls from God in February ;1837 while at Embley Park , prompting
4700-669: The cause. Most authorities today accept that Nightingale suffered from a particularly extreme form of brucellosis, the effects of which only began to lift in the early 1880s. Despite her symptoms, she remained phenomenally productive in social reform. During her bedridden years, she also did pioneering work in the field of hospital planning, and her work propagated quickly across Britain and the world. Nightingale's output slowed down considerably in her last decade. She wrote very little during that period due to blindness and declining mental abilities, though she still retained an interest in current affairs. Although much of Nightingale's work improved
4794-405: The cornerstone of the curriculum at the Nightingale School and other nursing schools, though it was written specifically for the education of those nursing at home. Nightingale wrote, "Every day sanitary knowledge, or the knowledge of nursing, or in other words, of how to put the constitution in such a state as that it will have no disease, or that it can recover from disease, takes a higher place. It
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#17328630833114888-468: The death rate from 42% to 2%, either by making improvements in hygiene herself, or by calling for the Sanitary Commission. For example, Nightingale implemented handwashing in the hospital where she worked. During her first winter at Scutari, 4,077 soldiers died there. Ten times more soldiers died from illnesses such as typhus , typhoid , cholera , and dysentery than from battle wounds. With overcrowding, defective sewers and lack of ventilation,
4982-473: The demands of services required by the baby boom generation. The highest-paid registered nurses in the United States are in California. California cities often comprise the top five highest-paying metropolitan areas for registered nurses in the country. Most registered nurses start working with competitive salaries. The median annual salary for registered nurses was $ 80,000 per year as of June 2020, according to
5076-834: The early 1880s Nightingale wrote an article for a textbook in which she advocated strict precautions designed, she said, to kill germs. Nightingale's work served as an inspiration for nurses in the American Civil War . The Union government approached her for advice in organising field medicine. Her ideas inspired the volunteer body of the United States Sanitary Commission . Nightingale advocated autonomous nursing leadership, and that her new style of matrons had full control and discipline over their nursing staff. The infamous " Guy's Hospital dispute" in 1879–1880 between matron Margaret Burt and hospital medical staff highlighted how doctors sometimes felt that their authority
5170-562: The face of opposition from her family and the restrictive social code for affluent young English women. As a young woman, Nightingale was described as attractive, slender, and graceful. While her demeanour was often severe, she was said to be very charming and to possess a radiant smile. Her most persistent suitor was the politician and poet Richard Monckton Milnes , but after a nine-year courtship, she rejected him, convinced that marriage would interfere with her ability to follow her calling to nursing. In Rome in 1847, she met Sidney Herbert ,
5264-463: The family's homes at Embley, Hampshire , and Lea Hurst, Derbyshire . Florence inherited a liberal-humanitarian outlook from both sides of her family. Her parents were William Edward Nightingale, born William Edward Shore (1794–1874) and Frances ("Fanny") Nightingale ( née Smith; 1788–1880). William's mother Mary ( née Evans) was the niece of Peter Nightingale, under the terms of whose will William inherited his estate at Lea Hurst, and assumed
5358-997: The first nursing school, the Nightingale Training School, at St Thomas' Hospital on 9 July 1860. The first trained Nightingale nurses began work on 16 May 1865 at the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary. Now called the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery , the school is part of King's College London . In 1866 she said the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital in Aylesbury near her sister's home Claydon House would be "the most beautiful hospital in England", and in 1868 called it "an excellent model to follow". Nightingale wrote Notes on Nursing (1859). The book served as
5452-780: The first recipient of the Royal Red Cross . In 1904, she was appointed a Lady of Grace of the Order of St John (LGStJ) . In 1907, she became the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit . In the following year she was given the Honorary Freedom of the City of London . Her birthday is now celebrated as International May 12th Awareness Day . From 1857 onwards, Nightingale was intermittently bedridden and suffered from depression. A recent biography cites brucellosis and associated spondylitis as
5546-579: The fund and the Duke of Cambridge was chairman. In her 1856 letters she described spas in the Ottoman Empire , detailing the health conditions, physical descriptions, dietary information, and other vital details of patients whom she directed there. She noted that the treatment there was significantly less expensive than in Switzerland. Nightingale had £45,000 at her disposal from the Nightingale Fund to set up
5640-427: The graduate to exit the program with a Masters in Nursing, e.g.: Bachelor of Science/Master of Nursing, and these are generally offered over a four-year period. Postgraduate nursing education is widespread in Australia and is encouraged by employing bodies such as state health services (e.g. New South Wales Health). There are many varying courses and scholarships available which provide a bachelor-level Registered Nurse
5734-551: The guidance of a 'standard treatment manual' such as the Central Australian Remote Practitioners Association (CARPA) manuals as opposed to the direct order of a medical practitioner whilst practising in a remote/isolated setting. A Registered Nurse at this level would be professionally referred to as a 'Remote Area Nurse' or 'Clinical Nurse Specialist - Speciality'. In all Canadian provinces except Quebec, newly registered nurses are required to have
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#17328630833115828-426: The health care industry. NNU supports a tax on financial transactions , which the organization says could raise at least $ 350 billion a year. In The New York Times on January 28, 2016, Nicholas Confessore reported, "According to Federal Election Commission records [NNU's] 'super PAC' has spent close to $ 1 million on ads and other support for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders . The NNU spending
5922-421: The increased course-load necessary to complete the program in a short time. Some employers, especially hospitals, may require a bachelor's degree even for entry-level positions; however, it is also increasingly common for hospitals to hire ASN-licensed individuals for limited practice, under the condition that the individual complete a BSN within a designated time-frame, typically 2–3 years. Specialty certification
6016-483: The increased volume of undergraduate coursework related to the profession of nursing, sometimes as part of the program itself and sometimes as prerequisites for admission. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees include more thorough coursework in leadership and community health, as well as more clinical hours, and can be completed as an extension of an Associate program or standalone. Accelerated versions of both exist, and are considered particularly challenging due to
6110-474: The level of bachelor's degree in Australia, and can range in two to four years in length with three years being the national average. Some universities offer a two-year 'fast track' bachelor's degree, whereby a students study three years worth of coursework compressed in a two-year period. This is made possible by reducing summer and winter semester breaks and utilising three semesters per year compared to two. Some universities also offer combined degrees which allow
6204-754: The lot of women everywhere, Nightingale believed that women craved sympathy and were not as capable as men. She criticised early women's rights activists for decrying an alleged lack of careers for women at the same time that lucrative medical positions, under the supervision of Nightingale and others, went perpetually unfilled. She preferred the friendship of powerful men, insisting they had done more than women to help her attain her goals, writing: "I have never found one woman who has altered her life by one iota for me or my opinions." She often referred to herself as, for example, "a man of action" and "a man of business". However, she did have several important and long-lasting friendships with women. Later in life, she kept up
6298-411: The media at the time, but critics agree on the importance of her later work in professionalising nursing roles for women. In 1860, she laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London. It was the first secular nursing school in the world and is now part of King's College London . In recognition of her pioneering work in nursing,
6392-401: The military field hospital she managed. While frequently credited as the creator of the polar area diagram, it is known to have been used by André-Michel Guerry in 1829 and Léon Louis Lalanne by 1830. Nightingale called a compilation of such diagrams a " coxcomb ", but later that term would frequently be used for the individual diagrams. She made extensive use of coxcombs to present reports on
6486-441: The name and arms of Nightingale. Fanny's father (Florence's maternal grandfather) was the abolitionist and Unitarian William Smith . Nightingale's father educated her. A BBC documentary reported that "Florence and her older sister Parthenope benefited from their father's advanced ideas about women's education. They studied history, mathematics, Italian, classical literature, and philosophy, and from an early age Florence, who
6580-439: The opportunity to 'up-skill' and assume an extended scope of practice. Such courses are offered at all levels of the post graduate spectrum and range from graduate certificate to master's degree and provide a theoretical framework for a bachelor level Registered nurse to take up an advanced practice position such as Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC) and Nurse Practitioner (NP). Rural and Remote nursing
6674-541: The other hand, Seacole told the French chef Alexis Soyer that "You must know, M Soyer, that Miss Nightingale is very fond of me. When I passed through Scutari, she very kindly gave me board and lodging." The arrival of two waves of Irish nuns, the Sisters of Mercy , to assist with nursing duties at Scutari met with different responses from Nightingale. Mary Clare Moore headed the first wave and placed herself and her Sisters under
6768-593: The owl Athena. Nightingale often carried the owl in her pocket, until the pet died (shortly before Nightingale left for Crimea). Her writings on Egypt, in particular, are testimony to her learning, literary skill, and philosophy of life. Sailing up the Nile as far as Abu Simbel in January 1850, she wrote of the Abu Simbel temples , "Sublime in the highest style of intellectual beauty, intellect without effort, without suffering ... not
6862-632: The poor condition of the facilities, the British Government commissioned Isambard Kingdom Brunel to design a prefabricated hospital that could be built in England and shipped to the Dardanelles . The result was Renkioi Hospital , a civilian facility that, under the management of Edmund Alexander Parkes , had a death rate less than one tenth of that of Scutari. Stephen Paget in the Dictionary of National Biography asserted that Nightingale reduced
6956-476: The prescription of medication without the official supervision of a licensed physician (MD or DO). However, a number of advanced nursing degree programs are sufficiently specialized for work within a hospital setting (for example, Nurse Anesthetist) that it is uncommon for such nurses to run their own medical practice. Nurses in the United States follow the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) which are laws that protect
7050-506: The pressure her programme of reform placed on him. Nightingale also much later had strong relations with academic Benjamin Jowett , who may have wanted to marry her. Nightingale continued her travels (now with Charles and Selina Bracebridge ) as far as Greece and Egypt. While in Athens, Greece, Nightingale rescued a juvenile little owl from a group of children who were tormenting it, and she named
7144-562: The public's health and welfare by outlining the safe practices of nursing. All states and territories in the U.S. have a nurse practice act. The rules and regulations may vary from state to state. It is important to know the current laws governing nursing practices in their state. Typical requirements to get into a nursing school: High School diploma, required GPA for school of choice, admissions application, personal essay, personal interview, teacher recommendations, volunteer experience (preferably in healthcare), application fee, test of English as
7238-483: The sanitary design of hospitals and the introduction of sanitation in working-class homes (see Statistics and Sanitary Reform ). According to some secondary sources, Nightingale had a frosty relationship with her fellow nurse Mary Seacole , who ran a hotel/hospital for officers. Seacole's own memoir, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands , records only one, friendly, meeting with her, when she asked her for
7332-581: The soldiers. After she returned to Britain and began collecting evidence before the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army, she came to believe that most of the soldiers at the hospital were killed by poor living conditions. This experience influenced her later career when she advocated sanitary living conditions as of great importance. Consequently, she reduced peacetime deaths in the army and turned her attention to
7426-544: The standard of care in his 1842–1843 published novel Martin Chuzzlewit in the figure of Sarah Gamp as being incompetent, negligent, alcoholic and corrupt. According to Caroline Worthington, director of the Florence Nightingale Museum , "When she [Nightingale] started out there was no such thing as nursing. The Dickens character Sarah Gamp, who was more interested in drinking gin than looking after her patients,
7520-411: The wounded. However, Russell thought the behaviour was unladylike, and invented an alternative, leading to "The Lady with the Lamp". In the Crimea on 29 November 1855, the Nightingale Fund was established for the training of nurses during a public meeting to recognise Nightingale for her work in the war. There was an outpouring of generous donations. Sidney Herbert served as honorary secretary of
7614-452: Was a British nurse who provided the foundation of modern nursing. Nightingale obtained her experience during the Crimean War . In 1860, Nightingale established the St. Thomas Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. The registration of nurses by nursing councils or boards began in the early twentieth century. New Zealand registered the first nurse in 1901 with the establishment of
7708-547: Was a prodigious and versatile writer. In her lifetime, much of her published work was concerned with spreading medical knowledge. Some of her tracts were written in simple English so that they could easily be understood by those with poor literary skills. She was also a pioneer in data visualisation with the use of infographics , using graphical presentations of statistical data in an effective way. Much of her writing, including her extensive work on religion and mysticism , has only been published posthumously. Florence Nightingale
7802-405: Was being challenged by these new style Nightingale matrons. This was not an isolated episode and other matrons experienced similar issues, such as Eva Luckes . In the 1870s, Nightingale mentored Linda Richards , "America's first trained nurse", and enabled her to return to the United States with adequate training and knowledge to establish high-quality nursing schools. Richards went on to become
7896-417: Was being delivered by overworked medical staff in the face of official indifference. Medicines were in short supply, hygiene was being neglected, and mass infections were common, many of them fatal. There was no equipment to process food for the patients: This frail young woman ... embraced in her solicitude the sick of three armies. After Nightingale sent a plea to The Times for a government solution to
7990-532: Was born on 12 May 1820 into a wealthy and well-connected British family at the Villa Colombaia , in Florence , Tuscany, Italy, and was named after the city of her birth. Florence's older sister Frances Parthenope had similarly been named after her place of birth, Parthenope , a Greek settlement now part of the city of Naples . The family moved back to England in 1821, with Nightingale being brought up in
8084-663: Was classified as "Expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate." In 2019, NNU officially endorsed Sanders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Founded in 1999, it only represented registered nurses (RNs). In 2009, UAN merged with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and Massachusetts Nurses Association to form NNU. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) voted to join NNU as an affiliate in October 2022, increasing NNU's total membership to nearly 225,000. Registered nurse A registered nurse ( RN )
8178-567: Was created in Carrara marble by Francis William Sargant in 1913 and placed in the cloister of the Basilica of Santa Croce , in Florence, Italy. Florence Nightingale exhibited a gift for mathematics from an early age and excelled in the subject under the tutelage of her father. Later, Nightingale became a pioneer in the visual presentation of information and statistical graphics . She used methods such as
8272-439: Was incapable of boring anyone." Her behaviour was said to be exasperating and eccentric and she had little respect for upper-class British women, whom she regarded generally as inconsequential. She said that if given the choice between being a woman or a galley slave, then she would choose the freedom of the galleys. She generally rejected female company and spent her time with male intellectuals. Clarke made an exception, however, in
8366-407: Was only a mild exaggeration. Hospitals were places of last resort where the floors were laid with straw to soak up the blood. Florence transformed nursing when she got back [from Crimea]. She had access to people in high places and she used it to get things done. Florence was stubborn, opinionated, and forthright but she had to be those things in order to achieve all that she did." Though Nightingale
8460-413: Was the first of its kind ever to be written. It appeared at a time when the simple rules of health were only beginning to be known, when its topics were of vital importance not only for the well-being and recovery of patients, when hospitals were riddled with infection, when nurses were still mainly regarded as ignorant, uneducated persons. The book has, inevitably, its place in the history of nursing, for it
8554-599: Was the more academic of the two girls, displayed an extraordinary ability for collecting and analysing data which she would use to great effect in later life." In 1838, her father took the family on a tour in Europe where she was introduced to the English-born Parisian hostess Mary Clarke , with whom Florence bonded. She recorded that "Clarkey" was a stimulating hostess who did not care for her appearance, and while her ideas did not always agree with those of her guests, "she
8648-573: Was to print after her return): "God called me in the morning and asked me would I do good for him alone without reputation." Later in 1850, she visited the Lutheran religious community at Kaiserswerth-am-Rhein in Germany, where she observed Pastor Theodor Fliedner and the deaconesses working for the sick and the deprived. She regarded the experience as a turning point in her life and issued her findings anonymously in 1851; The Institution of Kaiserswerth on
8742-465: Was very kind to the men and, what is more, to the Officers – and did some good (she) made many drunk". Nightingale reportedly wrote, "I had the greatest difficulty in repelling Mrs. Seacole's advances, and in preventing association between her and my nurses (absolutely out of the question!) ... Anyone who employs Mrs. Seacole will introduce much kindness – also much drunkenness and improper conduct". On
8836-610: Was written by the founder of modern nursing". As Mark Bostridge has demonstrated, one of Nightingale's signal achievements was the introduction of trained nurses into the workhouse system in Britain from the 1860s onwards. This meant that sick paupers were no longer being cared for by other, able-bodied paupers, but by properly trained nursing staff. In the first half of the 19th century, nurses were usually former servants or widows who found no other job and therefore were forced to earn their living by this work. Charles Dickens caricatured
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