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Virginia Henderson and her timeless writings

This paper provides a reflection on the written works of Miss Virginia Avenel Henderson. Miss Henderson is a nurse, a scientist, an artist and a quintessential human being--all traits which informed her written output. Nursing practice, research and education were all subjects of her extensive chronicle. The four-volume Nursing Studies Index is her contribution to nursing research. The Index was sandwiched between two revisions of Principles and Practice of Nursing (5th and 6th eds), the placement of which caused the Index to focus on practice and the Principles (6th ed.) to be based on research. The sixth edition of Principles, written with Gladys Nite and 17 contributors, is considered the most important single professional document written in the twentieth century. The book synthesizes nursing practice, education, theory and research in an age when many nurses are challenged by the seeming incongruity in these essential professional functions.

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Virginia A. Henderson (1897–1996), Wrote the Book on Modern Nursing

Setting a Global Standard

Henderson authored many of editorials for nursing journals, arguing for a greater emphasis on actual clinical nursing care. She also wrote an important pamphlet for the International Council of Nurses (ICN) entitled “Basic Principles of Nursing Care.”

First published in 1960 and widely circulated in many languages, the document broke nursing down into fundamental elements that would apply even in the most primitive settings. Henderson later expanded her original essay into a book, published in 1969.

Henderson’s robust career continued into her 70s and 80s, when she began speaking and teaching internationally while continuing her ongoing scholarly work.

“The Foremost Nurse”

Towards the end of her life, Henderson received numerous awards, fellowships and honorary degrees for her contributions to nursing. One honor of which she was especially proud was lending her name to the Sigma Theta Tau International Library and e-Repository.

In a 1996 reflection in Journal of Advanced Nursing,

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Virginia Henderson

American nurse and writer

Virginia Avenel Henderson (November 30, 1897 – March 19, 1996) was an American nurse, researcher, theorist, and writer.^[1]

Henderson is famous for a definition of nursing: "The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge" (first published in Henderson & Nite 1978, p. 5, 1955 ed.).^[1]^[2]^[3] She is known as "the first lady of nursing" and has been called, "arguably the most famous nurse of the 20th century"^[1] and "the quintessential nurse of the twentieth century".^[4] In a 1996 article in the Journal of Advanced Nursing Edward Halloran wrote, "Virginia Henderson's written works will be viewed as the 20th century equivalent of those of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale."^[3]

Early life

Henderson was born on November