Nursing is a career that many may not think about, but is a vital part of the health care system. Nurses are the ones who care for patients, spending more time with them than the doctor. It’s easy to think that this position has lasted centuries. Surprisingly, nursing as we know it began in the mid-1800s. And it’s thanks to one woman; Florence Nightingale.
Florence Nightingale, born in Italy in 1820, her English family moved back to England a year after her birth. Growing up, she was educated by her father and her family wanted her to marry one day. However, Florence claimed that she had a “calling from God” to care for the sick and poor. Eventually, she was allowed to leave for Germany for the Institution of Protestant Deaconesses to learn nursing, which had a poor reputation at the time.Â
In the 1854s, the Crimean War began. The British had many sick and injured soldiers, unable to handle them. This was made worse by the unsanitary conditions and a lack of medical equipment. The British Minister of War would then request that Florence, who was a social acquaintance, requested her to come to Turkey to oversee the nurses at the military hospitals. She arrived with a group of 38 nurses and implemented more organized systems, including food, blankets, and cleanliness. Florence and her nurses were successful, and they returned to England as heroes, with Florence being given the nickname “the Lady with the Lamp” for her care, hope and dedication.
Following the war, Florence started advocating for reforms in health care. She wrote a book that began changes within the military healthcare provisions, used what was then groundbreaking statistical data representation, including inventing an early version of the pie-chart, and set up public health systems for civilians. She then went on to found a school in 1860, known as the Nightingale Training School at St. Thomas’ Hospital, to teach future nursing students.
Despite not being the direct founder of nursing, she is the Mother of what we now consider nursing. She put in place many standards of practice that are still used today. Perhaps not many people know of her, but she will forever be remembered to those who practice the craft she helped to cultivate.
Florence Nightingale – Nurse, Age, Wife and Children
About Florence Nightingale – Florence Nightingale Museum London