Florence Nightingale - To Pledge or Not to Pledge?

Abstract

The Nightingale Pledge is another form of Hippocratic Oath which was designed back in the year 1893. This pledge was named after the founder, pioneer and legend in the field of nursing, Florence Nightingale. The paper discusses the history of the pledge, its functions and purpose and the ethical beliefs and limitations of the pledge.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

History of Nightingale Pledge4

Function and purpose5

Ethical benefits6

Limitations of Nightingale Pledge7

Conclusion8

References9

Florence Nightingale - To Pledge or Not to Pledge?

Introduction

The Nightingale Pledge is another form of Hippocratic Oath which was designed back in the year 1893. This pledge was named after the founder, pioneer and legend in the field of nursing, Florence Nightingale. The pledge has been created by Farrand Training School for Nurses in collaboration with Mrs. Lystra E. Gretter. This pledge consists of the ethics that should be followed and the principles that ought to be adopted by all nurses (Scafer, 2013). The pledge has undergone some changes over a period of time. As per this pledge, nurses are "missioner of health" who is fully responsible for the health and wellbeing of those under care. It also brought to light a new direction to healthcare provision in that it stated that public care should be marked with compassion. All nurses are required to be reciting this pledge solemnly at their graduation in nursing schools across the United States of America (ANA, 2012).

The pledge also talks about the loyalty that nurses bear to physicians and is deemed quite debatable because of it. In fact, this was made sp controversial in that it led to the cessation of the pledge in some institutes. The opponents of the pledge hold that nurses are autonomous in their practice and they should be made loyal to the patients and not physicians (Olin, 2012). All the care provided to the patients should be centered on patients. The paper discusses the history of the pledge, its functions and purpose and the ethical beliefs and limitations of the pledge.

History of Nightingale Pledge

The practice of having a member of a certain profession take oath to a certain set of rules and principles is age old and has continued through the ages. The requirement of this pledge or oath taking is based on the philosophy that it brings in a sense of responsibility to abide by the rules and ethics of the profession. It shapes the opinions of the followers and directs their course of action. Hence, it was realized that a pledge was needed for the nurses as well (American Journal of Nursing, 2010). This is not to state that during the time the Nightingale Pledge was formed there was no oath, because there was - The Oath of Hippocrates. It only means that this was not followed by all and those who did follow it did not do so in the purest of senses.

Lystra Gretter, the founder of Nightingale Pledge was a very religious woman and was a senior nurse from ...