200 years of Florence Nightingale: contributions to the professional practice of nurses in hospitals

Analyze the agreement of nurses, who work in hospital institutions, about Florence Nightingale's conceptions about nursing, people, health and the environment. Quantitative, observational and cross-sectional study, with the participation of 3,451 nurses from 36 Portuguese hospitals. Data collection took place from July 2015 to March 2016, using a questionnaire. For analysis, descriptive and analytical statistics were used. It was evident that 60% to 70% of participating nurses considered that Florence Nightingale's conceptions of nursing, person, health and environment were partly in agreement or totally in agreement with their practice. The variables that influenced agreement were: service, condition in which they practice the profession, length of professional practice, academic degree and region of the country. Florence Nightingale's conceptions continue to contribute to professional nursing practice, with the region and the service significantly influencing this continuity.