Which Nursing Theorist Are You?

Every nurse carries a little of someone who came before them. Look at these theorists as role models and see which one you recognize in yourself.

Florence Nightingale: Mysterious and Accomplished

Florence Nightingale was the most influential woman in nursing in her lifetime and remains a household name in schools, hospitals, and home care worldwide. Her push for environmental sanitation has saved countless lives into this era. Beyond nursing she pursued mathematics, religion, philosophy, and languages.

Her personal life still puzzles people. Born into elite society, she avoided socializing at gatherings. She was strong-willed and assertive but never wanted to be the center of attention, following her calling despite her family's objections. Being a modern Nightingale is not about awards. The changes you make in other people's lives earn you that place. Are you mysterious yet a catalyst like Florence Nightingale?

Virginia Henderson: A Legend By Definition

Henderson's definition of nursing spread across the nursing world like wildfire. Known for her leadership and published work, she became to the 20th century what Nightingale was to the 19th. She wrote a wide range of nursing books and pamphlets and held prominent positions in schools and councils worldwide, but most of her adult life centered on writing. Her books were her pride. More than any title, the love you have for the work your hands produce is what carries the profession forward. Do you take real pride in what you make, like Virginia Henderson?

Dorothea Orem: Heroine of Hospitals

Dorothea Orem is remembered for her Self-Care Deficit Theory. Even before it, her goal was to improve nursing quality in the general hospitals where she got most of her experience, working the pediatric ward, surgical ward, emergency room, and operating room. She also worked in private duty nursing before strengthening her theory. Her closeness to the public traced back to her roots: her father was a construction worker, her mother a homemaker. The biggest champions are the small people you barely notice in the hospital corridor. Like Orem, can you serve the public fully without asking for anything back?

Joyce Travelbee: A Heart for Humans

Joyce Travelbee, a psychiatric nurse, asked how human relationships shape the way nurses care. She was first an educator and writer, publishing nursing articles young. She died at 47, before finishing her post-graduate studies. Before she left, she called out how nurses were providing care robotically, with no compassion, which drove her to develop the Human-to-Human Relationship theory. She argued that nurses should find meaning in caring for patients. A big heart like hers is what hospitals need to build compassion, not just efficiency. Are you as warm-hearted as Joyce Travelbee?

Faye Glenn Abdellah: Epitome of Independence

Faye Abdellah was experienced in both nursing education and practice and held many positions in schools and councils, but her passion was public service, and that is where her work lasted. As Chief Nurse Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service she saw the problems facing nursing, especially in public health, and from them derived her Typology of 21 Nursing Problems. She wanted nursing out of medicine's shadow, with autonomy and full professional status. The theory helped retire old practices, ground care in nurse-developed standards, and improve nursing education, pushing the profession toward standing on its own. It takes courage to break free of the status quo as she did. Are you like Faye Glenn Abdellah, taking a stand to gain autonomy?

These theorists embody who we want to be as nurses, but the things that help us grow are already inside us. Copying what others did will not satisfy you. Build your own mark, work for it, and be proud of it. These figures are guides on a pedestal, and following them is fine, but the real work begins once the courage and skill are instilled in you.