Walt Whitman Nurse Essay
“Nothing endures but personal qualities,” (Whitman, 2008, p. 115) conveys the core of a nursing leader. There are many qualities and characteristics, which determine the effectiveness of a nurse leader. In 1863, Walt Whitman’s experience and artistry of the written word uncovered the horrors of war. While attempting to find his war-injured soldier brother, he travelled to many military hospitals and convalescent homes. Walt Whitman Nurse Essay. “The absence of any treatment for the heart and the soul [of the sick, wounded, and dying] truly brought him to despair” (Bob, 2009). The compassion, kindness, and altruism Walt Whitman demonstrated towards those suffering were communicated in his writings, which made a significant contribution to the nursing profession.
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Like his nursing skills, Whitman was autodidactic. His formal schooling ended when he was 11 years old. Nonetheless, young Whitman engaged in self-directed learning in which he had little to no finances but persevered. This included museum trips, nonstop reading, and his strong inclination to debate. When Whitman left home in 1831, he moved to New York City, where he broadened his education by working as a typesetter and writer. Since New York City was the center of culture, Whitman was able to attend theater and lectures. These opportunities were transforming. He dabbled in different careers. It was his love of writing, which he focused on. Walt Whitman Nurse Essay. Leaves of Grass, his collection of poems was published in
It was his legacy to make a meaningful contribution to change the delivery of care to the soldiers. He was truly a pioneer. The concept of nursing as a profession with training was not developed during the Civil War. The Florence Nightingale Pledge was composed in 1893. The first Nurses Associated Alumnae meeting was held in 1896, which was 35 years after Walt Whitman became a volunteer nurse. He exemplified extraordinary leadership by advocating for those who could not help themselves. Writing poetry, publishing newspaper articles, and actually giving of hi
Describe the theorists contribution to the development of the nursing profession. Walt Whitman Nurse Essay. The post should have an in-text citation and a matching reference in APA format A suggested website- http://www.workingnurse.com/articles/Walt-Whitman-American-Writer-and-Civil-War-Nurse A video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCaLQKfLGbo There also is a powerpoint provided as well. Can also use outside sources too.
Walt Whitman was not only a famous American poet, teacher, and journalist, but he was also a volunteer nurse for three years during the Civil War. In 1862, Whitman traveled to Washington, D.C., to tend to his brother, who had been wounded during the war. After witnessing the hurt soldiers in the battlefield hospital where his brother was receiving care, Whitman signed up to be a nurse at the battle zone in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
He spent his time visiting various Civil War hospitals tending to the sick, listening to soldiers’ stories, and writing letters home for them. By the end of his service, he estimated he visited “more than 100,000 wounded soldiers (both Union and Confederate) during 600 hospital visits.”
Some of Whitman’s most famous poems are written about his time as a nurse, including “The Wound Dresser,” which describes the act of nursing to the ill and dying:
I onward go, I stop,
With hinged knees and steady hand to dress wounds,
I am firm with each, the pangs are sharp yet unavoidable,
One turns to me his appealing eyes—poor boy! I never knew you,
Yet I think I could not refuse this moment to die for you, if that would save you (35-39)
Following his death in 1892, Whitman was buried in a tomb he designed in Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, New Jersey. Walt Whitman Nurse Essay.