Dear Diary — Shining a light on the work of 200 nurses

Background

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the World Health Assembly designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

Aim

To celebrate this event, we aimed to collect and analyse 200 nurses’ personal accounts of a time when they made a meaningful difference to patient care and to compare the contemporary perspectives that emerged with those evident in Nightingale’s historical writings.

Methods

This project employed a narrative inquiry design with diary entries collected from nurses employed at one metropolitan hospital in Australia thematically analysed.

Findings

In total, 209 nurses from 46 clinical units representing a diverse range of roles and clinical specialties contributed to the project. Five overarching themes emerged from analysis: (1) compassionate practice; (2) person-centred care; (3) human connection; (4) patient safety; and (5) teamwork and collaborative practice.

Discussion and conclusion

This project provided nurses with an opportunity to meaningfully reflect on their practice and to consider what matters most to them as they deliver care to patients and families. By mapping contemporary nursing practice to Nightingale’s writings, the findings highlight the historical legacy of nursing practice, provide a rich commentary on modern-day nursing, and illuminate nurses’ experiences of providing safe, high-quality, and compassionate patient care.