Nursing Leader: Lillian D Wald
1867-1940
Introduction
In the Nursing field, there are various individuals who have provided different contributions to enhance nursing practices and their service provision to the public. There are many nursing leaders whom until now are given honored by the society because of their significant inputs and contributions. One of these is Lillian D. Wald. Primarily, the goal of this paper is to provide essential information about Lillian Wald as a nursing leader. Furthermore, this paper also aims on discussing her major contributions and why she becomes a famous leader in her field.
Lillian D. Wald Profile
Lillian D Wald was an author, editor, publisher, teacher, public health official, women’s right activist, social worker and the founder of American Community nursing. Lillian Wald has given her unselfish devotion to humanity and this is being regarded all over the world as well as her visionary programs which is being copied everywhere. This great woman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on March 10, 1867 to Max and Minnie Schwartz Wald. She is the third among four siblings. When their family moved to Rochester, New York, Lillian received her education in private schools. Her grandfather was the great influence on Lillian’s ideology.
Being a bright student, she has been able to complete her secondary schooling when she was only 15. She decided to travel and she did it as a newspaper report while traveling the globe for 6 years. In 1889, Wald met a young nurse which served as her influence to take nursing at New York City Hospital. At the age of 22, she graduated and entered Women’s Medical College Studying until she became a Doctor.
Major Contribution
Lillian Wald has been known for being a practical idealist who worked to create a more impartial and moral society. Her mission was to make sure that women and children, poor and ht immigrants and members of all minority and religious groups would be able to realize the promise of liberty, life and pursuit of happiness of the America. As a young nurse, Lillian Wald has full of hope and one of these is to provide decent health care services to New York’s Lower East side tenements’ residents.
Because she really wanted to help, she decided to discontinue her medical school and moved in a house on Henry Street to live with the people whom she thought desperately needed her help. In 1893 she established the Henry Street Settlement or most commonly known as the Visiting Nurse Society (VNS) of New Yoirk. This program has become the model for similar institutions all over America and the globe. Her work at the VNS showed her masterful leadership ability, skills in fundraising and publicizing and her deep concern for humanity (Buhler-Wilkerson, 1993).
With her innate ability, she has been able to advocate the causes of public health nursing, world peace, housing reform, suffrage and the rights of immigrants, working people and women and their children. She has become an influential leader not only in the health care services but in the entire society and national politics (Christy, 1970). Her vigorous efforts to associate the health of children with the nation’s health made Wald a model of caring, achievement and integrity. She has achieved numerous recognitions, both national and international, but her efforts were always constantly grounded in her idea that the world is an extended version of the culturally diverse environment and neighborhood.
Being an advocate of children, Wald soon took her beyond the Henry Street settlements continue her work at New York City’s public schools; she instituted supportive systems within the public schools. In 1900, Wald had made all efforts to convinced New York City Board of Education to hire Elizabeth Farrell, for teaching special education classes for children with physical handicaps and learning disabilities. Two years after, Wald has pressured the school system to establish school nurses and the school system granted it an established Henry Street Nurse hired as the first public school nurse in New York.
With her innate ability, she has been able to advocate the causes of public health nursing, world peace, housing reform, suffrage and the rights of immigrants, working people and women and their children. She has become an influential leader not only in the health care services but in the entire society and national politics (Christy, 1970). Her vigorous efforts to associate the health of children with the nation’s health made Wald a model of caring, achievement and integrity. She has achieved numerous recognitions, both national and international, but her efforts were always constantly grounded in her idea that the world is an extended version of the culturally diverse environment and neighborhood.
Wald contributions to the society have made several impacts on the nursing and healthcare service field in today’s generation. First she was able to let the nursing practices be taught in the Universities and Colleges and her social works has paved way for humanitarian aids both in the US and other countries. She served as inspiration for all other nurses, to devote themselves in the field that they chose and do their work selflessly to help others especially the poor people, minority groups, disabled and handicapped individuals.
Wald opens the eyes of the leaders to what is really needed in the society and enlightened each nurses of this generation to extend their services not only in caring for other people in the society. She has been able to integrate educational system and healthcare system to work as one and spread their services to alleviate social sufferings and issues.
Conclusion
Analysis shows that Wald is a woman of empowerment and a woman of love and care for all the people around her. Her leadership ability has enabled her to established different institutions for the betterment of society and nation. She helped build a nation that provides care for the poor, children and disabled and gives empowerment to women and other workers. She alleviates the suffering of many people.
Reference
Backer, B. (1993). Lillian Wald: Connecting caring with activism. Nursing & Health Care 14(3), 122-9.
Buhler-Wilkerson,K. (1993). Bringing care to the people: Lillian Wald’s legacy to public health nursing American Journal of Public Health 83(12): 1778-86.
Christy, T.E. (1970). Portrait of a leader: Lillian D. Wald. Nursing Outlook, 84-88
Daniels, D.G. (1989). Always a sister. The feminism of Lillian D. Wald. New York: Feminist Press.