Notes on Nursing

The vocation of nursing requires complete dedication—so much so that Nightingale proposes that if one is unwilling to commit in this radical way, one shouldn’t pursue the job of nursing. The art of nursing has three crucial elements, the “A B C of a nurse’s education” (99), as it were: “to know what a sick human being is. […] to know how to behave to a sick human being. […] [and] to know that her patient is a sick human being and not an animal” (99). Nurses must genuinely feel that they have a calling to the work; otherwise, the job can quickly become drudgery. The nurse with a calling, however, can gain the experience necessary to advance in skill—and the power of observation that makes nursing second nature.

Patient status differs significantly when a patient is ill as opposed to convalescing. The convalescing patient needs restraint in much the same manner that the sick patient needs encouragement. In determining a patient’s diet, for instance, the sick patient is often the best gauge of the kind of food necessary for health, while the convalescing patient must often be ignored, as their eyes are healthier than their stomach and their cravings would lead to a prolonged period of recovery as they attempt to regain normalcy too quickly. Overexertion is common in convalescing patients.

Children’s health rapidly improves in the country and rapidly deteriorates in the city. The reason, of course, is that country living is itself conducive to health, providing fresh air and wide-open spaces and little pollution or foul air. By contrast, city life is often dark, damp, and unsanitary, and homes are poorly ventilated and insufficiently heated. In addition, because city life requires that children spend much more time indoors, the city lifestyle exacerbates the poor state of homes. Fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and warmth are simple means to raising happy and healthy children.