Nightingale Pledge


Nightingale Pledge

 an oath written in 1893 by a committee of which Mrs. Lystra E. Gretter was chairman. It was first administered to the 1893 graduating class of the Farrand Training School, Harper Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. It is as follows:
I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly:
To pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully.
I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.
I will do all in my power to elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my profession.
With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.
A pledge, modelled after the Hippocratic Oath, which is typically recited by nurses before graduating from nursing school, indicating their commitment to professionalism and patient care

Nightingale Pledge

An oath sometimes used by nurses on graduation from professional school. The pledge was formulated by a committee of the Farrand School of Nursing, Harper Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, of which Lystra Gretter was the chairperson, and was first administered to the graduating class in 1893.

“I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.”

See: Hippocratic Oath
See: Declaration of Geneva; Declaration of Hawaii; Prayer of Maimonides