The Florence Nightingale Pledge
By Barb Wang
In 1893, Mrs. Lystra E. Gretter and the Farrand Training School for Nurses wrote an adaptation of the physician's Hippocratic Oath for nurses. It was named the Florence Nightingale Pledge in honor of the esteemed founder of nursing.
This pledge is most often recited at graduation/pinning ceremonies for nurses. It is also often included in programs honoring nurses during Nurses Week.
I trained at a three-year diploma school of nursing in the mid-70s, and there was some controversy over saying this pledge at our capping ceremony. It had been the tradition at the school for nurses to memorize and recite this pledge to the audience at the ceremony. But being the 1970s, it was quite common to challenge anything that spoke to tradition! Our class actually held quite a heated discussion and finally it was put to a vote. I believe that the tradition was honored and upheld, though some would choose to remain silent during the recitation.
Here is pledge we recited:
I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.
What do you think? There are some parts of the pledge that you may think need updating, or you may, like some who contest the pledge of allegiance, not like the reference to God. I clearly remember the dedicated instructors I had who could make carrying a bedpan seem like a holy act! Thinking of those days of blue fitted dresses, white aprons and hose, polished nurse’s shoes, and of course, those starched white hats, make me nostalgic for another time and place. I wonder if the training nurses now receive could ever be as much fun as we had!
Barb Wang, RN, BSN, is a staff nurse on 6th Floor.
|
