Virginia Henderson

Virginia A. Henderson

Reporter: Princess Celmea S. Aspuriahttp://phantasmdarkstar.deviantart.com

1897-1996

Virginia Avenel Henderson

• “The first lady of nursing”

• “The first truly international nurse”

Background

Background

• Born on November 30, 1897 at Kansas City, Missouri

• Nationality: American• Graduated from the Army

School of Nursing, Washington, D.C. in 1921

Background

• Graduated her MA degree in nursing education at Teachers College, Columbia University

• First full-time nursing instructor in Virginia(Norfolk Protestant School of Nursing)

• Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing

Background

• Authored one of the most widely used definitions of nursing

• Proposed plan to create districts within the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (now Virginia Nurses Association)

Occupations

Occupations

•Nurse•Researcher•Theorist•Author

Nursing According to Henderson


• In 1966, Virginia Henderson’s definition of the unique function of nursing was a major stepping stone in the emergence of nursing as a discipline separate from medicine.


• Like Nightingale, Henderson described nursing in relation to the client and the client’s environment.

• Unlike Nightingale, Henderson saw the nurse as concerned with both healthy and ill individuals, acknowledged that nurses interact with clients even when recovery may not be feasible, and mentioned the teaching and advocacy roles of the nurse.


• “The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge. And to do this in such a way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible.”


• She was one of the first nurses to point out that nursing does not consist or merely following physician’s orders.

14 Fundamental Needs


• Henderson conceptualized the nurse’s role as assisting sick or healthy individuals to gain independence in meeting 14 fundamental needs


1. Breathing normally2. Eating and drinking

adequately3. Eliminating body wastes4. Moving and maintaining a

desirable position5. Sleeping and resting


6. Selecting suitable clothes7. Maintaining body temperature

within normal range by adjusting clothing and modifying the environment

8. Keeping the body clean and well groomed to protect the integument


9. Avoiding dangers in the environment and avoiding injuring others

10. Communicating with others in expressing emotions, needs, fears, or opinions

11. Worshipping according to ones faith


12. Working in such a way that one feels a sense of accomplishment

13. Playing or participating in various forms of recreation


14. Learning, discovering, or satisfying the curiosity that leads to normal development and health, and using available health facilities

Writings

Writings

• Basic Principles of Nursing Care

• Textbook of the Principles and Practice of Nursing

• Nursing Research• A Survey and Assessment• The Nursing Studies Index• The Nature of Nursing

Recognitions/Honors

Recognitions/Honors

• The International Council of Nurses presented her with the Christianne Reimann Prize in June 1985, aged 87

• Honorary fellow of the UK’s Royal College of Nursing

Recognitions/Honors

• Recipient of the Virginia Historical Nurse Leader Award

• Member of the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame

Death

Death

• Died on March 19, 1996 at age 98

• Died at Connecticut Hospice• Interred in her family’s plot of the

churchyard of St. Stephen’s Church, Forest, Bedford Country, Virginia

Documents

Virginia Henderson