Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not

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Courier Corporation, May 24, 2012 - Science - 160 pages

"My heart always sinks within me when I hear the good housewife, of every class, say, 'I assure you the bed has been well slept in,' and I can only hope it is not true. What? Is the bed already saturated with somebody else's damp before my patient comes to exhale in it his own damp? Has it not had a single chance to be aired? No, not one. It has been slept in every night."
From the best known work of Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), the originator and founder of modern nursing, comes a collection of notes that played an important part in the much needed revolution in the field of nursing. For the first time it was brought to the attention of those caring for the sick that their responsibilities covered not only the administration of medicines and the application of poultices, but the proper use of fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, quiet, and the proper selection and administration of diet. Miss Nightingale is outspoken on these subjects as well as on other factors that she considers essential to good nursing. But, whatever her topic, her main concern and attention is always on the patient and his needs.
One is impressed with the fact that the fundamental needs of the sick as observed by Miss Nightingale are amazingly similar today (even though they are generally taken for granted now) to what they were over 100 years ago when this book was written. For this reason, this little volume is as practical as it is interesting and entertaining. It will be an inspiration to the student nurse, refreshing and stimulating to the experienced nurse, and immensely helpful to anyone caring for the sick.

 

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About the author (2012)

Born in Florence, Italy, of wealthy parents, Florence Nightingale was a British nurse who is regarded as the founder of modern nursing practice. She was a strong proponent of hospital reform. She was trained in Germany at the Institute of Protestant Deaconesses in Kaiserswerth, which had a program for patient care training and for hospital administration. Nightingale excelled at both. As a nurse and then administrator of a barracks hospital during the Crimean War, she introduced sweeping changes in sanitary methods and discipline that dramatically reduced mortality rates. Her efforts changed British military nursing during the late 19th century. Following her military career, she was asked to form a training program for nurses at King's College and St. Thomas Hospital in London. The remainder of her career was devoted to nurse education and to the documentation of the first code for nursing. Her 1859 book, Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not has been described as "one of the seminal works of the modern world." The work went through many editions and remains in print today. Using a commonsense approach and a clear basic writing style, she proposed a thorough regimen for nursing care in hospitals and homes. She also provided advice on foods for various illnesses, cleanliness, personal grooming, ventilation, and special notes about the care of children and pregnant women. On 13 August 1910, at the age of 90, she died peacefully in her sleep at home. Although her family was offered the right to bury her at Westminster Abbey, this was declined by her relatives, and she is buried in the graveyard at St. Margaret Church in East Wellow, Hampshire.

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