Ernestine Wiedenbach
Ernestine Wiedenbach was a notable nursing pioneer born on August 18, 1900, in Hamburg, Germany, who later immigrated to New York City. Her early experiences, particularly the care of her dying grandmother, ignited her passion for nursing, despite her parents' preference for a career in the arts. Wiedenbach graduated from Wellesley College in 1922 but ultimately followed her true calling to nursing, completing her studies at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 1925 after overcoming challenges, including expulsion from another nursing program for leading a protest.
Throughout her career, Wiedenbach held various positions, including a supervisory role at Johns Hopkins and later at Bellevue Hospital. She earned a master's degree from Columbia University and contributed significantly to public health nursing and nursing education, eventually becoming a faculty member at Yale University School of Nursing. Wiedenbach developed a unique theoretical framework encompassing four key elements of nursing practice: philosophy, purpose, practice, and art, emphasizing the importance of understanding patients' needs and the emotional dimensions of care. Her work championed a shift from the traditional medical model to a more patient-centered approach in nursing, greatly influencing how nurses are perceived today. Wiedenbach passed away on March 8, 1998, at the age of 97.
Ernestine Wiedenbach
Nursing theorist
- Born: August 18, 1900
- Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
- Died: March 8, 1998
- Place of death: Miami, Florida
Education: Wellesley College; Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing; Columbia University; Maternity Center Association School for Nurse-Midwives
Significance: An author of numerous books and scholarly articles on nursing theory, Ernestine Wiedenbach was instrumental in shaping philosophical notions of how nurses should behave in clinical practice.
Background
Ernestine Wiedenbach was born in Hamburg, Germany, on August 18, 1900, to an affluent family. When she was nine years old, her family immigrated to New York City, where a traumatic event spurred her interest in nursing. Wiedenbach paid careful attention to the care given to her dying grandmother, and vowed to devote her life to humanitarian efforts in medicine. Her parents, however, were insistent that Wiedenbach should pursue a career in the arts, and in following that path, she graduated in 1922 with a degree in liberal arts from Wellesley College, a prestigious women’s university. Upon graduation, however, Wiedenbach enrolled in the Post-Graduate Hospital School of Nursing to pursue her true passion. However, she was expelled for leading a student protest group. With the help of Adelaide Nutting, an alumna of Johns Hopkins’s nursing school, she reached out to the director of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and pleaded to be allowed to enroll there. Wiedenbach was ultimately allowed to continue her studies at Johns Hopkins with the requirement that she not lead any student groups whatsoever. Adhering to this requirement, Wiedenbach graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1925.
Life’s Work
Wiedenbach began her career at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in a supervisory role, which was offered to her because of her bachelor’s degree. She later moved to Bellevue Hospital in New York City. During this time Wiedenbach began taking night classes at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and in 1934 she earned a master’s degree and a certificate in public health nursing. She then moved away from a hospital setting towards charitable organizations, and took a position with the Association for Improving Conditions of the Poor. In addition to this, Wiedenbach began authoring articles for the American Journal of Nursing.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Wiedenbach wished to volunteer as a nurse for the armed forces, but was unable to do so due to a minor heart condition. Nevertheless, she played an important role in training nurses for their service treating American soldiers in the Pacific and Europe. When the war ended, she returned to clinical practice, and expanded her breadth of knowledge with a certificate from the Maternity Center Association School for Nurse-Midwives in 1946. In 1952, her efforts in the field culminated in her appointment as a member of the faculty of the Yale University School of Nursing. While there, she served as director of the newly created graduate program in maternal-newborn nursing, a position in which she would hold until her retirement.
As part of her unique theories on clinical nursing, Wiedenbach conceived of four key elements to nursing practice: philosophy, purpose, practice, and art. Philosophically, she believed that nurses must have a profound appreciation for life itself, and that their view of life directly affected how they treat their patients. Wiedenbach believed that, above all, a nurse must adhere to the notion that each and every life is precious and that every individual has an inherent worth and dignity. Furthermore, she wrote, purpose is defined as a nurse’s desire to accomplish certain treatment goals, and this also encompasses the actions related to treatment goals. The practice of nursing, Wiedenbach believed, is directly influenced by the beliefs held by nurses that affect treatment goals. In her works, she spends a great deal of time addressing what constitutes the "art" of nursing, noting the importance of understanding the patient’s needs and concerns and working with them when forming treatment goals.
According to Wiedenbach, emotion was a strong factor that separated a nurse from other health care professionals. Action, she said, is a characteristic that all medical professionals should inherently have, but thinking and feeling are the separating factor. She also stated that medical knowledge can be divided into three categories: factual, speculative, and practical.
Impact
The main influence Wiedenbach had on the medical community as a whole was a shift away from the "medical model" towards the "patient model." The popular perception today of a nurse as a caring individual whose sole purpose is to make the patient feel comfortable in a hospital setting was greatly influenced by Wiedenbach’s theories. Prior to the acceptance of Wiedenbach’s theories, nurses were simply assistants to doctors, and had no role in calming the patient in stress-inducing situations.
Personal Life
Wiedenbach retired in 1966 and moved to Miami, Florida, where she died on March 8, 1998, at ninety-seven years of age.
Principal Works
- Family-Centered Maternity Nursing (1958)
- Clinical Nursing: A Helping Art (1964)
- Meeting the Realities in Clinical Teaching (1969)
Bibliography
Barger, Mary, Mary Ann Faucher, and Patricia Aikins Murphy. "Part I: Theorists and Historical Influences." Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health 60.1 (2015): 89–98. Print.
Dickoff, James, Patricia James, and Ernestine Wiedenbach. "Theory in a Practice Discipline: Part I. Practice Oriented Theory." Nursing Research 17.5 (1968): 415–34. Print.
Nickel, Susan, Theresa Gesse, and Aileen MacLaren. "Ernestine Wiedenbach: Her Professional Legacy." Journal of Nurse-Midwifery 37.3 (1992): 161–67. Print.
Pokorny, Marie E. "Nursing Theorists of Historical Significance." Nursing Theorists and Their Work. Ed. Martha Raile Alligood. 8th ed. St. Louis: Mosby, 2014. 42–59. Print.
Shoemaker, Sister M. Theophane, and Ernestine Wiedenbach. "History of Nurse-Midwifery in the United States." American Journal of Nursing 49.3 (1949): 32. Print.
Wiedenbach, Ernestine. "Family-centered Maternity Nursing." Academic Medicine 33.9 (1958): 707. Print.
Wiedenbach, Ernestine. "The Helping Art of Nursing." American Journal of Nursing 63.11 (1963): 54–57. Print.