August 31, 2022

Throughout nursing school, it is drilled into us as students that nurses operate under their own licenses and are accountable for our actions. Meaning – that we are never to blindly follow orders from a doctor without first making sure it is safe to do so. If we complete the order and a patient suffers because of it, we will have to answer as to why we implemented it and can be held accountable to our state nursing boards as well as face civil or criminal action. “The Doctor ordered it” is never an excuse.

At the completion of nursing school, it is customary to recite the “Nightingale Pledge,” which bears a resemblance to the award ceremony in the 1860s when Florence Nightingale was awarded the Red Cross of St. George in recognition for her service during the Crimean War. (aacn.org)

“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.” (aacn.org)

The American Association of the Colleges of Nursing also suggests schools consider adding this sentence to the oath nurses are asked to take, “As a nurse, I will practice with moral courage and agency to provide innovative person-centered care to all populations.” (aacn.org)

Since 2020 and the implementation of the Covid-19 pandemic, I often wondered if my fellow nurses remembered what Florence Nightingale did to boost our profession and to care for people. Nightingale was sent to the battlefield at a time when a scandal broke out about the lack of sufficient medical attention and the unsanitary and inhumane conditions to which injured soldiers were being subjected. (uthscsa.edu)

The poor reputation earned by previous female nurses was the main cause of the lack of adequate staff. (uthscsa.edu)

Interesting! Makes me wonder what they did to deserve such a poor reputation. Perhaps they didn’t check on them as often as they should have? Perhaps they secluded them? Out of sight. Out of mind. Or do you think they were too busy doing a version of modern-day TikTok dances?

When Nightingale arrived on the battlefield, she found patients lying in their own excrement, rodents and other pests scurrying among them, and a complete lack of sanitary conditions, which made infectious diseases the number one killer of soldiers rather than battle wounds. (uthscsa.edu)

Hmmm…so the lack of proper medical care was what took them out? Not their wounds, just lack of nursing care?

I worked throughout Covid in a Federal Hospital for Native Americans as a nurse in the ICU, ER, and Hospital Supervisor.

Physicians rarely went into the rooms to assess patients and oftentimes would only come to the unit if they were summoned to come. Their notes would read, “Due to limiting COVID exposure, report received by nurse.” By telephone, I might add. I would also receive orders that allowed me to obtain vital signs once a shift (every 12 hours) instead of every four hours.” This was all implemented to lessen OUR exposure to the virus, NOT to help the patient who is actually suffering from it. Or were they suffering from the hospital protocols of experimental medications like Remdesivir, and not the virus?

Nightingale was a revolutionary! She innovated and implemented ideas that drove her nursing care, and her patients had better outcomes because of it.

According to a 2015 article titled, “The lady with the lamp” and her contributions to modern nursing,” Nightingale developed these concepts, and all are at the heart of nursing today:

> Infection control – She did this by cleaning the entire hospital from top to bottom and requiring proper hygiene, such as clean linens, for the soldiers. This is incredible because, at the time, microbes and the chain of infection were unknown.

> Self-care (requiring patients to do things for themselves in order to gain independence and promote healing) – Nightingale required the least infirm patients at the hospital to assist in cleaning it.

> Assessment – She made rounds at night with her lamp, talking to and assessing the condition of her patients. Nursing assessments are the core of nursing, and all nursing actions are based on them. With that in mind, it’s only fitting that her habit of making assessment rounds was the reason why the soldiers nicknamed her the “the lady with the lamp.”

> Therapeutic communication – During her rounds, Nightingale talked to her patients, offering them empathy and compassion in their moments of despair.

> Spiritual nursing – Nightingale ministered to patients who were dying, bringing them comfort in their last hour.

> Public health advocacy – Nightingale wrote an 830-page report analyzing and proposing reforms for military hospitals operating under poor conditions. (uthscsa.edu)

Covid-positive patients could not have an advocate at the bedside, and their rooms were not cleaned daily as they once were. Oftentimes, when a patient requested prayer, a chaplain would call them on the phone. Physical touch didn’t happen often, and therapeutic communication was minimal because assessments were not ordered as often. Why didn’t more nurses recognize this would be detrimental to their outcome?

Nightingale embodied what it meant to have moral courage. Moral courage is considered to be the pinnacle of ethical behavior; it requires a steadfast commitment to fundamental ethical principles despite potential risks, such as threats to reputation, shame, emotional anxiety, isolation from colleagues, retaliation, and loss of employment. Morally courageous individuals are prepared to face tough decisions and confront the uncertainties associated with their resolve to ​do the right thing despite the consequences they may face. (nursingworld.org)

When my story was released with Project Veritas, “Federal Govt Whistleblower Goes Public with Secret Recordings…”, the public kept calling me courageous. Perhaps they meant I was morally courageous. I struggled with the thought of what blowing the whistle would do to my life. But the thought of standing in front of Yeshua on judgment day and having to answer for why I kept quiet, I could not bear.

Our Father does not bring us to the fire and then abandon us. We are all here on earth for such a time as this. Find out what your purpose is. The lions are rising up! And just like, “The Lady With the Lamp,” the Light will always outshine the darkness.

> https://www.aacnnursing.org/5B-Tool-Kit/Implementation-Nursing-Ceremony > https://www.projectveritas.com/video/covid-vax-exposed-part-1/ > https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/Resources/Courage-and-Distress/Moral-Courage-and-Risk.html