Identify and describe the nurse leader you chose For the body of your paper, address the following objectives and separate using distinct paragraph headers: Provide a brief description of the historical time period Discuss the achievements of the nurse leader Provide a description of how this nurse affected the nursing profession For the conclusion of your paper, address the following objective: Explain why this nurse leader was chosen for this project
Nurse Historical Leaders-Loretta C. Ford
The nursing profession is dynamic and challenging in nature and, therefore, requires leaders and leadership approaches that recognize the current and future changes and demands of the profession and shape it to meet such changes and demands. Past nursing leadership has shaped nursing leadership and set the standards for a nurse leader. Loretta C. Ford is among the most significant historical nurse leaders who played a central role in the advancement of the nursing profession. Loretta C. Ford improved the accessibility of healthcare to people within the general population. She is credited as the co-founder of the nurse practitioner alongside fellow M.D Henry Silver. The nurse practitioner program, which was first launched at the University of Colorado, was created in response to the lack of primary care specialists who met the needs and demands of the communities they served.
Historical Time Period of Loretta C. Ford
Loretta C. Ford was born in 1920. She became a nurse aide at the age of 16. She graduated from the then Middlesex General Hospital (currently Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital) in 1941 with a diploma in Nursing. She joined the Visiting Nurse Service (VNS) of New Brunswick and later the US Army Air Force as a nurse in 1942. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.S. in Nursing, a Master of Public Health Nursing Supervision, and a Doctorate in Education in 1949, 1951, and 1961 respectively (University of Rochester Medical Center, n.d.).
Dr. Ford served in the Boulder City County Public Health Nursing Service between 1948 and 1950 and later the Boulder City-County Health Department nursing director from 1956 to 1958. In 1955, she became the University of Colorado School of Nursing’s assistant professor and was later inducted into a professorship in 1965. In 1965, she cofounded and developed the inaugural pediatric nurse practitioner program at the University of Colorado. From 1972, she served as the Dean of the University of Rochester School of Nursing until she retired in 1985 (University of Rochester Medical Center, n.d.).
Achievements of Loretta C. Ford
Loretta Ford has various achievements in her long nursing career, including a) being the University of Rochester School of Nursing’s founding dean, b) the co-founder of the nurse practitioner program and role, c) developing the Unification Model of Nursing, d) Women’s Hall of Fame member, d) Surgeon General’s Medallion recipient from the US Public Health Service, Living Legend Award from the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) recipient, and the Gustav O. Lienhard Award from the National Academy of Medicine recipient (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2020). She has remained an active advocate for NP education, practice, and research.
Loretta C. Ford’s Impact on the Nursing Profession
Loretta C. Ford dedicated her life to nursing practice, education, research, consultations, community health, as well as supporting military nursing. Dr. Ford came up with innovative approaches to advancing nursing education, including the establishment of the nurse practitioner role to take up independent roles in primary care delivery. This was the beginning phase of the various specialty roles of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). Today, nurse practitioners throughout entire healthcare systems have a significant impact on the accessibility of care services, the cost of the services, the care quality of care, and reduced patient waiting time, with an impact on the satisfaction of patients across various care settings (Geller & Swan, 2021).
Conclusion
Loretta C. Ford was chosen for this project due to her continuous contribution to the development of the nursing practice. Today, all APRNs independently practice and provide accessible and affordable primary healthcare and work in acute care settings to reduce physician shortages, thanks to Loretta C. Ford’s efforts toward NP development.
References
American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2020, December 27). Loretta C. Ford, Co-founder of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) Profession, Receives the U.S. Surgeon General’s Medallion for Contributions to the Nation’s Health. https://www.aanp.org/news-feed/loretta-c-ford-co-founder-of-nurse-practitioner-np-profession-receives-u-s-surgeon-generals-medallion-for-contributions-to-nations-health