Indeed, the works of Florence Nightingale are well known across the globe. The pioneering work of Florence Nightingale as a nurse during Crimea was actually enormous. Florence Nightingale during the Crimea war improved the healing process of victims during the war. Prior to the Crimea was. Florence Nightingales had already made herself her gifted healthcare profession when Sidney, the war secretary, chose her as an individual who could organize as well as superintend in the war. Indeed, Sidney Herbert was intensely aware of the leadership skills of Florence Nightingale. Notably, the achievements of Florence Nightingale were due to critical analysis of data as well as close collaboration with key decision-makers. Certainly, her influence as a nurse owes much to her transformation leadership. This article discusses the history of Florence Nightingale exhibiting leadership qualities.
Moreover, during the era of Victoria, the nurses were portrayed as individuals with questionable ethics risk to drunkenness as well as having doubtful tactics. Simply, many nurses were not trustworthy. Florence Nightingale understood that nursing was limited to signify little more than the application of poultices as well as administration of medications. Consequently, Florence Nightingale lamented on the challenge of rectifying the shortage of nursing, and she had to declare to elevate the efficacy of the nurses (Dossey, 2010). Moreover, Florence Nightingale considered the shortage of nursing and, indeed, enhanced education for nurses as well as facilitated them to practice a total extent of their preparation for schooling. As a leader Florence Nightingale with excellent leadership skills, she foreshadowed the need for a solution to the nursing shortage. As a transformational leader, she comprehended the need for evidence-based practice. She believed that teaching nurse what to and how to observe remains the main lesson.
In addition, the career of Florence Nightingale was ushered by the emergence of the pandemic, which was infectious, as well as an era of lack of nursing care in a significant health crisis. Perhaps, her excellent transformational leadership and organizational skills were under action during crisis moments. Undeniably, after reports of the pandemic, Florence Nightingale communicated with the secretary of the war to volunteer as a nurse. Indeed, the uncanny skills of presenting hospital design, giving health statistics, and ensuring things are done well remain the significant instances of Florence Nightingale exhibiting transformational leadership (Goertz, 2010)
Certainly, Florence Nightingale volunteered to practice transformational leadership even before nurses were recognized as leaders. For instance, the leadership style of Florence Nightingale can be identified as stair step leadership development model. The stair-step leadership development under transformational leadership technique emphasizes that the various nurses have the capacity to become leaders. Also, the nurses develop leadership competence as time goes. Indeed, people are born to be leaders, but no one has been born with competent leadership skills to be a transformational leader.
In addition, In Crimea, Florence Nightingale exhibited excellent transformational leadership skills. Despite the fact that she had been warned about horrific conditions in Crimea, she eventually made it. Indeed, after arrival, Florence Nightingale found that the hospital’s environment was comprised of contaminated water, and patients were lying on the flow as rodents and bugs were passing amidst them. Besides, the bandages and soaps were relatively low compared to the number of the patients present. Notably, many soldiers were passing away due to various infectious diseases like typhoid and cholera rather than injuries. Certainly, Florence Nightingale was not surprised but had to be a role model in showing others what to do. She appealed for scrub branches and commanded people to scrub the floor and the ceiling. Then Florence Nightingale eventually moved around with a lamp attending to the patients. Ironically, she was granted “the Angel of the Crimea” and “the lady with Lamp” because she was a leader of compassion. Due to her leadership and work, the death rate was reduced by two-thirds. A vast improvement of sanitary conditions of the hospital was not only a transformational change in the hospital but also in the institution of various quality services. For instance, she transformed the diet served to the patients by installing an invalid kitchen where special dietary foods were being prepared (Selanders, & Crane, 2012). In addition, she also transformed the cleanliness of the patients by establishing a laundry so that the patients receive clean clothes. Indeed, slow by slow, she changes the lifestyle of patients. She actually established a classroom and a library for patients’ entertainment and intellectual stimulation.
In addition, as a leader, she approached Victoria and helped her establish Royal Commission on the health of army officers. The commission provided employment opportunities to statisticians daily to analyze the mortality rate of the army and horrifying incidences. With the usage of her Rose Diagram, Florence Nightingale showed how the improvement of sanitation has reduced deaths in the military.
In conclusion, Florence Nightingale was the best nurse leader who sacrificed her life to pioneer various facts. She even sacrificed her money to establish ST-Thomas Hospital and the Nightingales Training school for nurses in addition to sanitation improvement in hospital, data statistics, and offering care to patients as well as empowering them through entertainment. Florence Nightingale has been a great leader exhibiting transformation in even sector, and she remains a public nurse figure of admiration.
References
Dossey, B. M. (2010). Florence Nightingale: a 19th-century mystic. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(1), Sage publishers.
Goertz Koerner, J. (2010). Reflections on transformational leadership. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(1), Stanford university.
Selanders, L., & Crane, P. (2012). The voice of Florence Nightingale on advocacy. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(1). Carnage.
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