Reflective Journal Week 5 - Nursing Across the Ages

 1. What I learned about the time period being studied.

I learned a ton this week, especially since we had to watch the Florence Nightingale movie. I learned from my article about the Institution of Nursing Sisters founded by Elizabeth Fry. I learned from my teammates about the importance of compassion in nursing care. I got thinking about how your patients probably won’t recognize you as being a good nurse by how well you do nursing skills, but they will always remember if you were kind or not. I also learned from my teammates about the importance of spirituality in nursing. The Institution of Nursing Sisters were all catholic. They didn’t push their religion onto people, but made sure people were taken care of spiritually as well as physically. From the movie we watched, I learned to try to make good changes and to be a better leader and more confident like Florence Nightingale. I also was reminded just how important cleanliness is and that “cleanliness is close to godliness.”

2. How I will utilize the information learned in my nursing practice.

I will make sure to incorporate spirituality into my nursing care. I will also remember to always be kind and compassionate. I will practice being more confident and finding areas in nursing that need changing. I will try to be a better leader and make necessary changes. I will advocate for my patients and to always do what is right, like Ms. Nightingale. I will always practice proper hand hygiene and keep sterile fields sterile. I will do all I can to prevent the spread of disease.

3. My personal feelings about the time period covered.

The thing that was so surprising to me about this time period was the populations lack of understanding about bacteria. I didn’t realize that they still didn’t know much about bacteria at this time. That makes sense why they didn’t understand the importance of hand hygiene. I also found it interesting that this was the first time they allowed female nurses in war. This was an interesting time period to learn about.