This chapter opens with the challenge Nightingale and her close colleagues faced in establishing nursing as a profession when the ethical standards of the existing (secular) nurses were (generally) so low. The ethical issues she had to deal with in her own school, soon after it opened, are discussed three thorny problems with appointments. Anyone reading Nightingale’s writing on nursing will be struck by how often and how forcefully she insisted on high ethical standards. The reason for the emphasis on ethical standards is obvious enough in the task Nightingale faced in raising the new profession from its disreputable past. The International Council on Nursing (ICN) established its Code of Ethics in 1953, again based on Nightingale principles. It identified four responsibilities: to promote health, to prevent illness, to restore health, and to alleviate suffering. The code asks nurses not only to act ethically themselves, but to challenge unethical practices.

This chapter talks about mentor intelligence as a source of excellence. In order to perform successfully in a complex profession like nursing, there are beginning threshold requirements such as intellectual intelligence (IQ) and specialized knowledge and skills. Further, it is thought that working at a high level of excellence in one’s field requires emotional intelligence. However, the lack of Mentor Intelligence presents major impediments in developing one’s full potential to the highest level. The chapter provides ten tips for raising nurse’s mentor intelligence. The tips include such as cultivating the three ingredients of Mentor Intelligence, practicing nursing profession in a culture of mentorship and collegiality, sharpening nurse’s communication skills and their message, networking, becoming a mentor-leader, and being a “forever” student of mentoring, and developing the art of mentoring others. Three ingredients of Mentor Intelligence include mentoring mentality; mentoring lens; and mentoring momentum.

Louise Woerner, the author has often been called a friend of nursing. From her perspective, she is an admirer of nursing and nurses. In fact, she is virtually in awe of nurses. She became part of the health care system through a turn in her business concept based on the regulatory environment in New York, and through that, an admirer of nurses. Over the course of her career, she has come to know there are many different types of nurse leaders. Leadership has to incorporate some exibility based on the situation and the goal. Home Care Rochester (HCR) began a successful “Roadway to Independence” program that took the home health aide employees from “bussers” to car owners, which enabled more care to be delivered in the hard- to-reach suburbs, and offered a new opportunity for both the patients and employees. Home care is a nursing-driven business with quiet leaders.

Karen Gross shares eight lessons learned about leadership that occurred not from leading per se but from the process of hiring an academic nursing leader. The search now successfully concluded gave her an opportunity to reflect on what type of health care leader they were seeking at Southern Vermont College (SVC). Although not a health care professional, she spent more than 15 months thinking about leadership in the context of nursing. The whole search process from creating the job description to identifying a quality candidates’ pool to interviewing and ultimately selecting a divisional chair to helping the successful candidate see the fit with the institution allowed her to consider what qualities are critical to nursing leadership within the academy. In an interesting way, the search for a leader in nursing enabled her to think more effectively about leadership, and in the world of unintended consequences, made her a better leader.

Muslims believe that Islam is the completed and perfected religion that incorporates Judaism and Christianity. The primary objectives of Islamic law are protection of life, religion, body and mind, property, family, and lineage. Islam is a monotheistic religion that believes in one God, Allah. Faith and health were described by Prophet Mohammad as the most important attributes one could possess. Disease can be mainly physical, but often there can also be spiritual and mental components affecting the disease process. Muslims address illness and suffering first by following the religious prescriptions for healing alongside medical therapies. Muslims pray for strength, hope, and patience for the sick, potentially in the presence of the sick person, who is comforted by this. Respecting the modesty of Muslim women is paramount. Keep their bodies covered as much as possible during nursing and medical procedures.

Gaining input often requires that educators draw on numerous resources to be prepared for a class session. Seeking input is a strategy to help learners build their assessment skills, something that is a critical behavior throughout nursing. End-of-course evaluation is highly useful for considerations about what to do for the future and it is a terminal process. Creating the classroom situation so that learners must provide input enhances learner engagement and educator modifications or reinforcements. During the class session, educators need to stimulate evaluation of the ideas that learners present or that were presented to them. The wise educator might create a learning module or direct learners to a specific resource for more information. Innovative educators introduce new ways of learning on a fairly regular basis. Thinking is required for nurses to emerge as the dynamic nurse-patient interaction involving multiple sciences.

This chapter provides an example of how an educator might approach helping learners learn. Knowing one’s strengths provides a strong starting point in developing greater talents. Role modeling being a nurse reinforces for learners what nurses are expected to be. The chapter presents a case study of Rita who has completed some self-assessments, such as the StrengthsFinder, the EQ Map. Rita believes these personal strengths and perspectives will be useful to her as an educator. Each classroom session was identified as having more than one learning strategy and they all involved learner participation. She practiced what that facial expression would look like so that she could remember it for when she told the story in the classroom. Creating classroom interactions that transport learners to clinical experiences promotes the nursing essence, capitalizes on the expertise of educators, and focuses on becoming expert at learning. These are the goals of nurse educators.

Simulation and reflection in nursing education provide a foundation for knowledge, skill performance, collaboration, clinical reasoning, and development of self-confidence. In this simulation scenario, communication with an elderly client, students have the opportunity to reinforce previously learned content and explore principles used in communication with the older adult. Nurses of the 21st century use critical thinking when communicating with elders the most rapidly expanding group of the population. Development of expert skills in communication facilitates efficient client-centered care, resolution of illness, and promotion of health. This scenario focuses on communication with an elderly client in the hospital. The scenario can be used in an introduction-to-nursing or gerontologic nursing course or as a tutoring tool for students who desire reinforcement of learning to support clinical practice. This scenario builds on previous learning, using the principles of scaffolding while focusing on achievement of new outcomes.

Individuals with disability report poor communication, compromised care, negative attitudes on the part of health care professionals, lack of sensitivity, and fears related to quality of care all issues of universal concern to the nursing and medical professions. The inclusion of standardized patients with disabilities program (SPWD) in nursing education has the potential to improve the knowledge, attitudes and skills of students who will encounter individuals with disabilities in all health care environments, facilities, and home care settings throughout their professional careers. Simulations that incorporate SPWDs enable students to learn to communicate effectively, appropriately and sensitively with individuals with disabilities across the lifespan and with diverse types of disabilities. A well-planned strategy to integrate SPWDs in nursing education will enhance nursing students’ learning experiences and faculty members’ adoption of this innovative teaching approach with the goal of improving health care for persons with disabilities.

Communication is one of the most essential skills required to provide quality evidence-based care for the dying and their families. Dying individuals and their families need nurses to convey their humanity and accessibility to gain their trust and be comforted during their final journey. Another method to improve communication was developed by Wittenberg-Lyles, Goldsmith, Ferrell, and Reagan called the COMFORT nursing initiative. Mindful presence is essential as it emphasizes the use of empathy, active listening, demonstrates an understanding of cultural humility, employs effective nonverbal communication techniques, and acknowledges the nonverbal cues of the individual receiving care. This chapter applies these communication techniques to the sample case of Steven’s end-of-life care, one can easily see how essential communication was to providing the resources and support for Steven, his family, and the nurses providing care.