Professional Presence & Influence
Ashley A. Lewis
Western Governors University

Florence Nightingale, considered the founder of modern nursing, first began to establish nursing as a profession during the Crimean War. Since then, nursing theorists have continued to expand on the thought that patients are made up of more than just the symptoms they present with, Abraham Maslow, Carl Jung, Dr. Larry Dossey and Dorothy Johnson, but none more so than Jean Watson. She developed a theory of human caring that contained several core concepts, these concepts lay forth the ground work for how we, as nurses, should care for a patient. These concepts included transpersonal caring relationships (going beyond ego to higher “spiritual” caring created by caring moments), multiple ways of knowing (science, art, spiritual, etc) and a reflective/meditative approach to caring (Watson, 2010). As nurses it is our responsibility to elevate ourselves above simply what is seen by our eyes, to a level that we feel in our souls. Once we transcend to the level of deeply understanding our soul, we can fully give to our patients the type of holistic patient care that they both need and deserve. Dr. Larry Dossey is an internationally recognized physician known for advocating the role of the mind in health and the role of spirituality in healthcare (Dossey, n.d.). Dr. Dossey has designated the history of medicine in to three separate eras. The first era beginning in the 1860’s, is referred to as the mechanical era of medicine. During this time period, all aspects of health and illness were thought to be physical in nature. Because all illness was attributed to a physical cause, all treatment was also physical in nature, such as surgery and medications. It was at this time that Florence Nightingale began to assert her influence on the nursing profession. While working in a hospital