The Sources and Forms of Power Used by Florence Nightingale as Depicted in Her Letters Written July 1, 1853 to August 7, 1856 (2004)
Whiteside, Carol Lea (Author)
Gonzaga University
Wilson, Sandra M.
Edition Details: Advisor: Wilson, Sandra M.
Physical Details: 326 pp.
Language: English
Florence Nightingale was one of nursing's most visible leaders and made significant changes to the practice of nursing, medicine, environmental sanitation, and hospital construction. This study examined the letters Nightingale wrote from July 1, 1853 to August 7, 1856, looking for the forms of power she utilized in making changes. This time period included letters written while she served as the Superintendent at the Institute for Ill Gentlewomen in London and during her years serving in the Crimean War. The forms of power used by Nightingale were then examined for appropriateness for nursing leaders today. The letters were subjected to content analysis via the Minnesota Contextual Content Analysis software and two- step cluster analysis using SPSS. Wrong's forms of power (force, manipulation, persuasion, and authority) was the framework used for examining the letters. Types of authority included coercion, induced, legitimate, competent, and personal. The two most prevalent types of power used by Nightingale were by far persuasion and authority. With family members and friends, Nightingale used persuasion as a form of power. Nightingale was very adept at persuasion using facts, statistics, stories, imagery, and tenacity to persuade others. However, writing to colleagues or the War Office Nightingale used competent or legitimate authority as the predominant form of power. These letters were typically higher in traditional context than letters in which she used persuasion. The study also found that her use of personal authority was very high. Because of her connections to the wealthy and powerful members of English society, she was able to accomplish many things she may not have been able to do had she not had those connections and the resources they could provide. When stymied by bureaucracy, Nightingale would use her own money to buy supplies or services needed. This ability to use her power inside and outside the system enabled her to use her power more effectively as a nurse leader. Nursing today can learn much from Nightingale's use of power. Nursing is not an isolated profession. To lead effectively requires calling upon one's own power and the power of others. Networking was a vital aspect of Nightingale's role as a nurse leader. Her steadfast commitment to improving working conditions for her nurses and patient care for the sick lent legitimacy to her power of authority to make decisions, act decisively, and to champion others to act with her.
...MoreDescription Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. B 66/02 (2005): 822. UMI pub. no. 3162855.
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