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The Peplau web grows
Journal o f the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
Editorial
The Peplau Web Grows his issue of JAPNA continues the
focus on the ever expanding T web of change created by the life and work of the late Hildegard E. Peplau. We are including some photographs taken of Hilda in a variety of settings. One of my personal favorites is the one where the pant legs are rolled up, and we are wading in the River Jordan. Hilda's dear sister Bertha Reppert died a few short months after Hilda. A permanent marker for these two extraordinary w o m e n and their remarkable sister-in-law Anne Nails Peplau, who also died within the year, can be found in the Garden of Peace located in the gardens of the Rosemary House, 418 S. Market St., Mechanicsburg, PA 17055. These gardens are a Reppert family enterprise f o u n d e d by Hilda's sister Bertha. The gardens are open to the public 365 days of the year. I have been selected to receive the Hildegard E. Peplau Award at the American Nurses Association convention this June in Indianapolis, IN. I am honored to join the previous recipients of this award and will be privileged to give the first Peplau lecture at the convention. I plan to expand on two ideas about Peplau's contribution to nursing. The first is an idea that I wrote about almost 25 years ago
Reprint requests: Grayce M. Sills, R~, PhD, F A A N , 366 Carilla Lane, Columbus, OH 43228-1388. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc (2000). 6, 39-40. Copyright © 2000 by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. 1078-3903/2000/$12.00 + 0
66/1/105848 do#10.1067/mpn.2000.105848 April 2000
Left to right: Hildegard Peplau, Grayce Sills, and Lorrie Baldwin wading in the River Jordan, Israel, June 1985.
w h e n I offered the premise that Peplau's work created a paradigm change in the world of nursing. The paradigm shift was in the nature of the relationship between the nurse and the patient. Before the publication of Peplau's 1952 book, the nature of the nurse's relationship with the patient was that nurses acted on, to, and for patients. Indeed, this was the essence of the then-prevalent definition of nursing as framed by Virginia Henderson (1966). Henderson's definition was that nurses did to and for patients that which patients would do for themselves if they were able. Indeed, this is how it was when I was studying nursing more than 50 years ago. Patients were the objects of nursing action, and nurses were to do to, and for, patients. Peplau's conceptual framework altered that prevailing paradigm and forever changed the nature
of nursing. Nurses began to conceptualize patients as partners in the nursing process. Nurses began to be expected to know and to use that knowledge in moving patients toward growth and learning as an outcome of the illness experience. Evolutionary changes take place over a long period of time and eventually become the status quo. This has been the case in nursing. Many young nurses may never have heard of Peplau, and yet they, and indeed the entire profession, are the beneficiaries of that revolutionary framework introduced in the 1952 book. The second major contribution that Peplau made was to the specialty practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing. It was within the bounds of this specialty that Peplau and her students invented advanced nursing practice. Nurses, w h o preAPNA Web site., www.apna.org 39
Sills
Journal o f the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
pared at the master's level through the use of p s y c h o t h e r a p e u t i c k n o w l e d g e and skills, were designated core mental health professionals by government policy. This cadre of nurses m a d e and continues to make significant contributions to the care and treatment of p e o p l e with mental illness and mental health problems. The w e b grows. These two contributions w e r e achieved b y dint of a personality that was willing to risk the consequences of being different, of being out front, and of not taking the popular or easy roads. Therefore it is c o n g r u e n t with the t h e m e of extending the w e b that w e a c k n o w l e d g e the tremendous personal cost that accompanied Peplau's work. The c o v e r art and commentary for this issue focus on risk taking. Dr. Judith Haber's article in this issue assays the breadth of Peplau's contribution to psychiatric-mental health nursing. H a b e r ' s scholarly exposition will serve as a guide for those w h o w a n t to learn m o r e a b o u t the Peplau legacy. Dr. Phil Barker from the United K i n g d o m gives us an assessment of the influence of Peplau on nursing in his country. Barker is a scholar of Peplau's work and has published in this area in a variety of international journals. The articles by Peden and Beeber in this issue clearly demonstrate the c o n t i n u e d efficacy and p o w e r of Peplau's theoretical constructs. Both Peden and Beeber benefited f r o m direct consultations with Peplau. Each has explicated, for the reader, useful ideas for clinical practice. B e e b e r ' s extension and refinement of Peplau's w o r k and its clinical usefulness constitute a primer for the application of theory to practice. The title of B e e b e r ' s
40 A P N A Web site., w w w . a p n a . o r g
Left to right: Beverly Benfer, Hildegard Peplau, and Grayce Sills outside the International Council of Nurses meeting in Tel Aviv, June, 1985.
article, "Hildahood," is a fond tribute to Hilda, her legendary status, and the value of taking her w o r k to the "'hood." The w e b is capable of seemingly endless expansion. For those of you w h o were not able to be in Toronto for the Peplau tribute dinner, we are bringing remarks from that event as another w a y of sharing with you the ever growing web created by Peplau. Drs. Nancy Valentine, Elizabeth Carter, and Beverly Malone created in their own ways remembrances of Hilda-r e m e m b r a n c e s from which w e learned, laughed, and shed a few tears. Also in this issue, Dr. Phyllis Connolly, as a past president of APNA and a Rutgers graduate, reflects in her article about the role modeling by Hilda that influences her teaching style. Dr. Luther Christman, a contemporary of Peplau, brings a remembrance of the very early years of d e v e l o p m e n t of the specialty, w h e n he and Hilda stood together on the forefront of m a n y issues that paved the way for the field. In these two issues of JAPNA, w e have e n d e a v o r e d to p a y tribute to the most r e m a r k a b l e nurse of the 20th century. In the next few years,
w e shall continue to honor the legacy she left for this Journal. She wanted very much for us to do features a b o u t the early m e n and w o m e n w h o helped build the specialty. Thus we are asking you, dear readers, to send names of persons w h o m you believe we should profile, interview, or feature in s o m e w a y to acknowledge their contributions to the field. I w o u l d expect that m a n y of these will be nurses w h o directed graduate programs, but there will be others from the service arena, I am certain. Let me hear from y o u via e-mail at s i l l s . l @ o s u . e d u or by letter at 366 Carilla Lane, Columbus, OH 43228. Thanks, and let's k e e p that w e b growing. - - G r a y c e M. Sills, RN, PhD, FAAN
REFERENCES Henderson, V. (1966). The nature of nursing. New York: Macmillan. Peplau, H. E. (1952). Interpersonal relations in nursing. New York: G.P.Putnam's Sons. Sills, G. M. (1978). Hildegard E. Peplau: Leader, practitioner, academician, scholar, and theorist. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, I6, 122-128.
Vol. 6, No. 2
Editorial
The Peplau Web Grows his issue of JAPNA continues the
focus on the ever expanding T web of change created by the life and work of the late Hildegard E. Peplau. We are including some photographs taken of Hilda in a variety of settings. One of my personal favorites is the one where the pant legs are rolled up, and we are wading in the River Jordan. Hilda's dear sister Bertha Reppert died a few short months after Hilda. A permanent marker for these two extraordinary w o m e n and their remarkable sister-in-law Anne Nails Peplau, who also died within the year, can be found in the Garden of Peace located in the gardens of the Rosemary House, 418 S. Market St., Mechanicsburg, PA 17055. These gardens are a Reppert family enterprise f o u n d e d by Hilda's sister Bertha. The gardens are open to the public 365 days of the year. I have been selected to receive the Hildegard E. Peplau Award at the American Nurses Association convention this June in Indianapolis, IN. I am honored to join the previous recipients of this award and will be privileged to give the first Peplau lecture at the convention. I plan to expand on two ideas about Peplau's contribution to nursing. The first is an idea that I wrote about almost 25 years ago
Reprint requests: Grayce M. Sills, R~, PhD, F A A N , 366 Carilla Lane, Columbus, OH 43228-1388. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc (2000). 6, 39-40. Copyright © 2000 by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. 1078-3903/2000/$12.00 + 0
66/1/105848 do#10.1067/mpn.2000.105848 April 2000
Left to right: Hildegard Peplau, Grayce Sills, and Lorrie Baldwin wading in the River Jordan, Israel, June 1985.
w h e n I offered the premise that Peplau's work created a paradigm change in the world of nursing. The paradigm shift was in the nature of the relationship between the nurse and the patient. Before the publication of Peplau's 1952 book, the nature of the nurse's relationship with the patient was that nurses acted on, to, and for patients. Indeed, this was the essence of the then-prevalent definition of nursing as framed by Virginia Henderson (1966). Henderson's definition was that nurses did to and for patients that which patients would do for themselves if they were able. Indeed, this is how it was when I was studying nursing more than 50 years ago. Patients were the objects of nursing action, and nurses were to do to, and for, patients. Peplau's conceptual framework altered that prevailing paradigm and forever changed the nature
of nursing. Nurses began to conceptualize patients as partners in the nursing process. Nurses began to be expected to know and to use that knowledge in moving patients toward growth and learning as an outcome of the illness experience. Evolutionary changes take place over a long period of time and eventually become the status quo. This has been the case in nursing. Many young nurses may never have heard of Peplau, and yet they, and indeed the entire profession, are the beneficiaries of that revolutionary framework introduced in the 1952 book. The second major contribution that Peplau made was to the specialty practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing. It was within the bounds of this specialty that Peplau and her students invented advanced nursing practice. Nurses, w h o preAPNA Web site., www.apna.org 39
Sills
Journal o f the American Psychiatric Nurses Association
pared at the master's level through the use of p s y c h o t h e r a p e u t i c k n o w l e d g e and skills, were designated core mental health professionals by government policy. This cadre of nurses m a d e and continues to make significant contributions to the care and treatment of p e o p l e with mental illness and mental health problems. The w e b grows. These two contributions w e r e achieved b y dint of a personality that was willing to risk the consequences of being different, of being out front, and of not taking the popular or easy roads. Therefore it is c o n g r u e n t with the t h e m e of extending the w e b that w e a c k n o w l e d g e the tremendous personal cost that accompanied Peplau's work. The c o v e r art and commentary for this issue focus on risk taking. Dr. Judith Haber's article in this issue assays the breadth of Peplau's contribution to psychiatric-mental health nursing. H a b e r ' s scholarly exposition will serve as a guide for those w h o w a n t to learn m o r e a b o u t the Peplau legacy. Dr. Phil Barker from the United K i n g d o m gives us an assessment of the influence of Peplau on nursing in his country. Barker is a scholar of Peplau's work and has published in this area in a variety of international journals. The articles by Peden and Beeber in this issue clearly demonstrate the c o n t i n u e d efficacy and p o w e r of Peplau's theoretical constructs. Both Peden and Beeber benefited f r o m direct consultations with Peplau. Each has explicated, for the reader, useful ideas for clinical practice. B e e b e r ' s extension and refinement of Peplau's w o r k and its clinical usefulness constitute a primer for the application of theory to practice. The title of B e e b e r ' s
40 A P N A Web site., w w w . a p n a . o r g
Left to right: Beverly Benfer, Hildegard Peplau, and Grayce Sills outside the International Council of Nurses meeting in Tel Aviv, June, 1985.
article, "Hildahood," is a fond tribute to Hilda, her legendary status, and the value of taking her w o r k to the "'hood." The w e b is capable of seemingly endless expansion. For those of you w h o were not able to be in Toronto for the Peplau tribute dinner, we are bringing remarks from that event as another w a y of sharing with you the ever growing web created by Peplau. Drs. Nancy Valentine, Elizabeth Carter, and Beverly Malone created in their own ways remembrances of Hilda-r e m e m b r a n c e s from which w e learned, laughed, and shed a few tears. Also in this issue, Dr. Phyllis Connolly, as a past president of APNA and a Rutgers graduate, reflects in her article about the role modeling by Hilda that influences her teaching style. Dr. Luther Christman, a contemporary of Peplau, brings a remembrance of the very early years of d e v e l o p m e n t of the specialty, w h e n he and Hilda stood together on the forefront of m a n y issues that paved the way for the field. In these two issues of JAPNA, w e have e n d e a v o r e d to p a y tribute to the most r e m a r k a b l e nurse of the 20th century. In the next few years,
w e shall continue to honor the legacy she left for this Journal. She wanted very much for us to do features a b o u t the early m e n and w o m e n w h o helped build the specialty. Thus we are asking you, dear readers, to send names of persons w h o m you believe we should profile, interview, or feature in s o m e w a y to acknowledge their contributions to the field. I w o u l d expect that m a n y of these will be nurses w h o directed graduate programs, but there will be others from the service arena, I am certain. Let me hear from y o u via e-mail at s i l l s . l @ o s u . e d u or by letter at 366 Carilla Lane, Columbus, OH 43228. Thanks, and let's k e e p that w e b growing. - - G r a y c e M. Sills, RN, PhD, FAAN
REFERENCES Henderson, V. (1966). The nature of nursing. New York: Macmillan. Peplau, H. E. (1952). Interpersonal relations in nursing. New York: G.P.Putnam's Sons. Sills, G. M. (1978). Hildegard E. Peplau: Leader, practitioner, academician, scholar, and theorist. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, I6, 122-128.
Vol. 6, No. 2