Editor’s note: This post by Lorita Renfro, BSN, RN, proposes an updated version of the Nightingale Pledge. The author is a clinical nursing instructor in the ADN/VN programs at Kaplan College in San Diego and is currently working toward an MSN with an educational focus. Let Lorita know what you think. Would your version differ in any way?

Florence Nightingale in Crimean War, from Wikipedia Commons

As the science of nursing evolves, one aspect of nursing remains the same: the art. We see it when we are inspired to do the best for our patients, develop higher standards, and provide care from our hearts. This inspiration is the basis of all good nursing practice.

The science of nursing is seen in the interventions that provide comfort and protect our patients from harm. In the past, this protection often meant cleaning floors and carrying bed pans. My father believed until the day he died that what I did was to “help the doctors” heal the patients.

This may still be true at times, but the science of nursing is now also represented by innovation, intuition, strength, and the responsibility of being a team member who collaborates in the delivery […]