Productivity Profiles - The Nurse

Being a nurse and famous seems like a contradiction. Florence Nightingale was both: nurse and famous. She was the daughter of the wealthy landowner (1).

Yet, when searching for \"famous nurses,\" Mary Seacole appears after Florence Nightingale. And there are also male nurses: St. Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614) and James dirham (2). Being famous is a relative competence.

She -- Nightingale -- \"refused to marry several suitors, and at the age of twenty-five told her parents she wanted to become a nurse. Her parents were totally opposed to the idea as nursing was associated with working class women. (1)\"

Being a nurse is often associated with a vocation. It is not a rational choice in dedicating one\'s life to serving patients, but more an ideological choice. But this will not be the case for every nurse. For many it is just a job.

\"On several occasions she was found treating wounded soldiers from both sides while the battle was still going on.... returned to England as a national heroine ... decided to begin a campaign to improve the quality of of nursing in military hospitals.\" (1)

There is not one group of nurses. The work of the nurse can be more technical for those that are dedicated to surgery and intensive care. But the largest group of nurses are constantly dealing with patients or clients as they are called often.

The word \"patient\" is etymologically related with \"patience\" and that is perhaps one of the the best qualifications a nurse can have: patience. If one business is centered around people it is the hospital business and having patience is highly needed and valued (but under-paid).

The nurse takes \"care\" of the caring part of the patient\'s recovery in a process where it has been \"cured\" previously by a medical specialist.

There are new developments where the nursing profession get\'s more specialized, like the role of the nurse-practioner. But in general the role of the nurse is more generalistic than that of the (medical) specialist.

Now, why are nurses never famous? Why do we remember the name of the man that performed the first open hart-surgery in South Africa and not the nurse who assisted? Because, nurses are no heros ... But maybe they are for the patient.

Hans Bool

(1) - http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/REnightingale.htm
\r (2) - http://nurse.lifetips.com/cat/59404/nursing-history/

Hans Bool writes articles about management, culture and change. If you are interested to read or experience more about these topics have a look at: Astor White.

A Couple of the The Best Productivity Tips I Know
In today's business world, productivity is critical in surviving and maintaining. With so many people out there competing for the same jobs, the more...

Productivity Improves When You Learn How to Ask?
If productivity is about doing something that is usually tied to a desired outcome, then how can you maximize productivity of your employees or even y...

How Group Productivity Training Helps Your Business
Group productivity is a key element to anyone's business or company. The best way to achieve the best group productivity is by using inspiration. It...

Productivity and Productivity Analysis
Productivity analysis refers to the process of differentiating the actual data over the estimated data of output and input measurement and presentatio...

Identifying the Right Type of Productivity Benchmark for Your Company
Productivity benchmarks are as diverse as any performance and productivity metrics. The different benchmarks need to be customized to the goals of the...

Productivity Means Struggle
Being productive on the job and life in general means that you will encounter struggles. How you deal with those struggles will affect your professio...

Affordable Health Insurance (Pennsylvania) - Lifestyle Issues That Affect Your Rate
1. Smoking will make you pay very high health insurance rates. Smokers are more liable to die young and are also more likely to contract many deadly d...

Does Your Employee Productivity Reflect Self Leadership Skills?
Productivity is the direct outcome of people doing something. In today's knowledge worker environment, to secure maximum productivity demands that eve...

How to Identify Sales Training Needs in Simple and Effective Ways
With all the discussion about how sales training may not necessarily contribute to sales success, many training managers will still have to implement ...

How to Increase Productivity
A business wishing to improve its profitability must undertake certain steps that can guarantee to provide the desired results. One of the things that...

Danvers State Lunatic Hospital in Massachusetts History and Memories Part 3
In the 1940s at Danvers Mental Hospital, one of their biggest problems was the lack of nurses and just general help. It was well known that qualified...

Boost Productivity With Office Furniture
The general impression among people is that the calibre and the skills of the people working in an office affect its growth and productivity. They do ...

Increasing Business Productivity in Your Small Business
What is the best way to increase business productivity? Well there is no exact answer but it pays to understand your team. Larger corporations conside...

Is Your Productivity Suffering Because You Have No Written Action Plan?
Are you working harder not smarter because you do not have a written plan? What would happen if you could increase productivity and decrease your tim...

The Influence of Flexibility on Productivity
When a manager demands an employee a more flexible attitude, will this have impact on the productivity level of the employee? And in which situations ...

This entry has been filed under Increasing Productivity and currently has