Virginia Avenel Henderson’s biography and her work are explored in this paper. Henderson’s perspective on nursing emphasized its role in assisting individuals, regardless of their health status, to attain and maintain good health. While she did not classify her ideas as a theory, they still hold sway in the teachings of modern nursing. Henderson regarded her Nursing Studies Index as her most notable contribution to the field.
Nursing Concepts of Virginia Avenel Henderson. The healthcare industry globally has undergone substantial changes in recent years. However, the core principles of nursing, including the provision of care for ill and elderly individuals, have remained unchanged. Many of these principles are derived from the teachings of Virginia Henderson. Born in 1897 in Kansas City, Missouri, Virginia Avenel Henderson attended the Army School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., and successfully completed her studies in 1921 to become Virginia’s inaugural full-time nursing instructor (Flynn, 1997).
Known for her extensive career as a nurse, teacher, author, and researcher spanning over six decades, she is often compared to the Florence Nightingale of the 20th century (Masters, 2009). Upholding Nightingale’s principles, Henderson embraced a humanistic approach that emphasized patient and family education as a fundamental aspect of nursing care. Her nursing theory notably highlighted the role of nurses as patient educators (Clark, 1997). Henderson’s influential definition of nursing is particularly notable as it has shaped the aspirations and ideologies of many subsequent nurses.
According to Henderson, the nurse’s role is to assist individuals, whether they are sick or healthy, in carrying out activities that promote their health or recovery, or in achieving a peaceful death, if necessary. The nurse’s aim is to help individuals become independent as quickly as possible. Henderson acquired her foundational nursing training in general hospitals where emphasis was placed on technical competence, speed of performance, and a professional demeanor (Flynn, 1997).
She believed that the training she received consisted of a series of procedures that were almost unrelated. She also had doubts about her true role. Prior to becoming a nurse instructor, Henderson’s clinical experience was primarily in public health. After nursing school, she worked with the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Agency in New York City during the summer. Henderson saw nursing as both an art and a science, emphasizing the importance of understanding the patient’s needs (Clark, 1997).
The text highlights the fourteen areas of nursing care, centered around the physical, psychological, spiritual, and sociological aspects of an individual. These areas serve as the foundation for teaching nursing principles and practice. According to the author, nursing care is based on the following fourteen basic needs:
• Breathe normally
• Eat and drink adequately
• Eliminate bodily wastes
• Move and maintain desirable postures
• Sleep and rest
• Select suitable clothes; dress and undress
• Maintain body temperature within normal range by adjusting clothing and modifying the environment
• Keep the body clean and well-groomed and protect the integument
• Avoid dangers in the environment and prevent causing harm to others
• Communicate with others to express emotions, needs, fears, or opinions.
• Worship according to one’s faith
• Work in a way that brings a sense of accomplishment
• Engage in play or various recreational activities
• Learn, discover, or satisfy curiosity for normal development and health, and utilize available health facilities (Halloran, 1996).
Henderson did not perceive her work as a nursing theory or anticipate approval from others. Rather, she urged each nurse to establish their own understanding and perception of nursing. Nevertheless, Henderson’s work does encompass the metaparadigm concepts of nursing. Her philosophy identifies Person as the individual receiving nursing care, encompassing biological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual aspects. Additionally, Environment refers to the external surroundings, including factors like temperature, potential hazards, and the community’s influence on both the individual and the family.
According to Clark (1997), health is dependent on the patient’s ability to function independently, and nursing plays a role in assisting both sick and healthy individuals in performing their activities and achieving independence as quickly as possible. Henderson emphasized that nursing is not restricted to caring for the sick or individuals alone; rather, it should actively engage in healthcare politics, ethics, and economics. Additionally, she believed that nursing is an ongoing concept with endless possibilities, where the quality of service provided is only limited by the nurse’s interpretation, imagination, and competence (Clark, 1997).
Henderson also had strong ideas about utilizing technology to enhance nursing and patient care. Since as early as 1985, she advocated for the use of electronic patient records to collect and process patient data for statistical purposes. Furthermore, she believed that creating an international medical record involving contributions from doctors, nurses, and others would empower patients and foster a more equal partnership between nurses and patients (Clark, 1997). As a visionary, Henderson would encourage all nurses, educators, clinicians, and researchers to seize every opportunity to expand their knowledge in utilizing current and potential technologies to improve the unique role of nurses. She would emphasize the need for nurses to be well-prepared with computer skills, standardized training, the transformation of nursing data into new knowledge, and a standardized language for documenting care (Tlou, 2001). Virginia Henderson served as senior research associate emeritus for the Yale University School of Nursing and produced numerous influential publications that all embody these three common traits.
First and foremost, she was a scientist whose contributions to the health science field, particularly regarding nurses and their patients, were unmatched. Additionally, she possessed a skill for artistry, evident in her eloquent, comprehensive, and lucid writing. Moreover, she was a compassionate individual who seamlessly integrated her scientific and artistic abilities with a profound self-awareness. Through her works, she not only conveyed her love and care for her fellow human beings but also shared her own humanity (Halloran, 1996).
Although Henderson is most famous for her work on Basic Principles of Nursing Care, she considered her nursing Studies Index to be her most significant contribution to the field of nursing (Clark, 1997). Henderson emphasized that until nurses embrace and effectively utilize indexes to access information from databases, they cannot claim to be part of a research-oriented profession, which is a claim many nurses now make.
“The act of rediscovering the wheel, wasting time and often someone else’s money, is what any researcher who fails to find, review, and build on related research is engaged in.” (Clark, 1997) Henderson passed away on March 19, 1996, peacefully experiencing her own definition of nursing (with others fulfilling what she herself was unable to do). However, her contributions and message will endure for future generations of nurses. (Flynn, 1997)
