History, Function and purpose of Nightingale Pledge - Research Paper Example

Nursing al Affiliation) Introduction The Nightingale Pledge is a form of Hippocratic Oath that became known in the year 1893.It is named after Florence Nightingale, the mother of nursing. The Nightingale pledge explains the loyalty that nurses show to physicians, which is quite debatable. Those against the pledge debate that nurses are independent in their practice. They argue that nurses’ loyalty should be on patients and not doctors (Nightingale & McDonald, 2007). All the focus of nursing practice should concentrate on the patients rather than the physicians. This paper discusses the history of Nightingale’s pledge, its purpose, functions, ethical beliefs, and limitations.  History of Nightingale Pledge Lystra Gretter first wrote the Nightingale Pledge in the year 1893. Lyster was a nursing instructor at the old Harper Hospital in Detroit. The Nightingale Pledge was first used by graduating class of Harper hospital in 1893 (Nightingale & McDonald, 2005). It is an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians.it is a way of nurses expressing their intentions of fulfilling their responsibilities. Every graduating student nurse must recite this oath.  Gretter named the pledge after Florence Nightingale as a sign of respect because she is the mother of nursing. This pledge is still the symbol of nursing and it represents the nurses’ values (American Nurses Association, 2006). By reciting, a nurse pledges to be faithful in her practice her profession and to exercise proper ethical values (Nightingale & McDonald, 2007). However, the nursing community still debates on this oath about its importance to nursing as a profession. Its relationship to the old oath of medicine is quite plain. The pledge has undergone some changes over a period. This pledge states that nurses are health missionaries who take full responsibility for the health of their patients. It has also brought to light a new direction to healthcare provision (ANA, 2012).  Mrs. Cadwalader Jones, who is member of the Board of Managers of the City Hospital in New York, is the author of another version of the Hippocratic Oath. The oath is as follows: the nurse swears to be loyal to the doctors under whom they serve, as a soldier is loyal to his or her seniors, the nurse swears to be fair and liberal to all other members of the medical profession be helping them where necessary( Wolf,2014). The nurse swears to lead the nursing profession in honor. The nurse swears to resist any form of temptations whatsoever in any field during nursing practice to ensure the sick receive proper care. Lastly, the nurse swears to keep secrets of the patients and protect them from friends, families and other households. Function and purpose Nightingale pledge Controversies surrounding the Nightingale Pledge must be resolved because this issue can compromise the integrity of nurses. Neglecting these controversies can create a negative reputation of nursing profession. This pledge is very important because many nursing organizations have adopted its principles in their own code of ethics (American Nurses Association, 2006). Taking an oath is a symbol of professionalism and promise of abiding by the ethical rules. Scholars claim that it is important for all licensed workers to make a pledge to guarantee the public that they are devoted to serve and to help those who are suffering. Nursing is a profession therefore; it needs a pledge that can rely on a nurses personal values. The goal of this pledge is to act as a base that provides direction to a nurses personal values (Fry, 2005). Ethical benefits of Nightingale Pledge Ethics in the nursing profession have been around for a long period. Florence Nightingale came up with a pledge in the 1800’s, which acts as a basis for the current code of ethics. It defines what nurses must know about their ethical tasks. It also enables others to understand the expectations of nurses. A good nurse is one who adheres to this code of ethics. Nurses who follow this code of ethics tend to provide quality care, promote nursing as a profession, and improve their skills (Wolf, 2014). In comparison to Nightingale’s pledge, the code of ethics states that nurses should treat all patients and co-workers with kindness and respect. The social status, economic status or health conditions should not influence the decision of nurse in providing quality care. The nightingale pledge creates professionalism in nursing because it allows patients, clients, and coworkers to receive equal treatment. According to Nightingale, human dignity is important in providing care to the patients. Nursing profession requires nurses to respect every patient and their family members. The aspect of respect and human dignity has been included in the modern code of ethics. Nightingale believed that a good nurse should treat patients the way they would like to be treated when they are ill. This aspect of empathy forms a section of the code of ethics in nursing. Limitations Today nurses who recite the pledge complain about the ambiguities of the words. Nurses are requesting that the pledge be simplified to fit the modern times (ANA, 2006). For example, many nurses wonder about the meaning of the word purity, which has more than one meaning and its interpretensions can create confusions. Nevertheless, some nurses feel that sticking to the original words of the pledge represents nurses’ loyalty to the public, to the patients and to the profession (ANA, 2006). Because of these requests to have the pledge updated, many nursing schools are altering it to fit their graduation ceremonies (ANA, 2012). This poses two new issues: the nurses obligation to make a pledge and to recite the same pledge. Nurses are health-care providers, therefore; they need to guarantee the public that they are capable of helping and of serving. Nurses need to recite the same version of the pledge to ratify the same meaning. Interfering with the pledge creates different versions of the pledge and nurses tend interpret their roles differently. Different interpretations often lead to conflicts and stresses among nurses. Some scholars still doubt Florence Nightingales qualifications that make her deserve this honor. Although Nightingale is the founder of modern nursing, she portrayed undesirable qualities. A good example is when Nightingale failed to allow Mary Seacole who was a mixed race British nurse to work in her hospital during the Crimean War (Nightingale & McDonald, 2009). This act suggests that perhaps she does not really deserve this recognition. The Nightingale pledge is currently posing problems within the nursing community because of its history and the words. Although the pledge has an important influence in nursing, it creates a problem in nursing. To maintain the reputation of nursing profession, this issue needs immediate action. The nursing profession must find an answer that will preserve the origin and beauty of the pledge and at the same time resolve the existing ethical conflicts. Arguments in the Nightingale pledge Nurses who take the Florence Nightingale Pledge attribute to a set of ethical ideals. Different institutions have their own interpretations regarding the nightingale pledge. A code of ethics acts as a guide to nursing profession but it may be ambiguous. Research reveals that certain rules in the nightingale pledge may conflict. Nurses contribute to the professions body of knowledge through research (Nightingale & McDonald, 2009). For a nurse to decide which rule to obey and which to infringe, the nurse must have a broader set of ethics. The nightingale pledge has certain code of ethics that cannot cover all ethical dilemmas. The nightingale pledge makes nurses believe that they do not have the skills and knowledge to make on their own because they must always report to the doctor. Today technology has increased nurses’ ability to make choices (Nightingale & McDonald, 2005). Nurses are taking responsibility and can work on their own to come up with a final decision. The profession becomes much better through active participation by nurses, having critical debate that aim to improve the codes. Conclusion Nursing is a profession like any other and it has its own history. The history of nursing evolves around Florence Nightingale, the mother of nursing. Florence is known to have empathy and respect human dignity, which made her close to her patients. It is through her deeds that Gretter acknowledged her work and came up with the pledge. The nightingale pledge is an oath taken by student nurses during their graduation to ensure that they remain loyal throughout their profession. This pledge has been used to create the modern code of ethics in the nursing profession. Despite the benefits of the pledge, some institutions still argue that the pledge should be rewritten in simpler terms. Some debates support the pledge while others do not. Those that do not support the pledge seek ways to modify it to fit their contexts. Despite all these arguments, at the end of the day any modification on the pledge still includes the principle of beneficence, confidentiality, non-maleficence, seeking informed consent and respect to humanity. Reference Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. (2006). Washington, D.C.: American Nurses Association. Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. (2012). Washington, D.C.: American Nurses Association. Top of Form Bottom of Form Fry, H. (2005). A handbook for teaching & learning in higher education (2nd Ed.). London: Kogan Page. Top of Form Bottom of Form Nightingale, F., & McDonald, L. (2004).Florence Nightingale on public health care. Waterloo, Ont.: Wildfrid Laurier University Press. Top of Form Bottom of Form Nightingale, F., & McDonald, L. (2007).Florence Nightingale on social change in India. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Top of Form Bottom of Form Nightingale, F., & McDonald, L. (2009).Florence Nightingale the Nightingale School. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfred Laurier University Press. Top of Form Bottom of Form Nursing Scope and standards of practice. (2nd Ed.). (2012). Silver Spring, Md.: American Nurses Association. Top of Form Bottom of Form Wolf, Z. (2014). Exploring rituals in nursing: Joining art and science. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company Read More