Florence Nightingale, Lady with the lamp
Florence Nightingale was born in Florence on May 12, 1820, as the daughter of wealthy parents and died in London on August 13, 1910. She is considered the founder of modern healthcare and established the first school for future nurses, based on scientific evidence, which led to several reforms in healthcare.
She was also a pioneer concerning statistical data acquisition and with her mathematical skills, she enhanced the system. Florence Nightingale was the first woman to ever receive the British Order of Merit. The International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12 each year to commemorate her birthday.
Key moments in Florence Nightingale’s biography
The life of Florence Nightingale was marked by decisive events. She received high education in her youth, which was rare for women of the Victorian Age. Her father introduced her to modern and old languages as well as philosophy, so Nightingale grew up to become a reflected and educated woman. At the age of 16, she is said to have had visions from God with the call to reduce human suffering on earth. She interpreted them as a request to get into healthcare. The problem remaining: The profession of nurse was not highly regarded in society. In addition, it was not a generally accepted position for a woman.
The beginning of her career
After lots of begging, her father finally agreed to Nightingale’s wishes of pursuing a career in healthcare. In 1851, she started her training at a Protestant facility in Kaiserswerth, Germany. After her return to England two years later, Florence Nightingale became the leader of a London hospital and considerably improved the care and administration situation there.
Care with structure
Nightingale’s career path was especially shaped by her involvement during the Crimean War (1853-1856), where she managed to establish a structured care system for the wounded soldiers under the most chaotic circumstances – a trailblazer for modern medication management. After she had met Queen Victoria, Florence Nightingale initiated a variety of reformatory changes in the social and healthcare system in England from 1865 on. Numerous improvements in the healthcare structure can be attributed to this time and her influence.
Educational reform
In 1859 and 1860, Florence Nightingale published her most recognized work about healthcare, among it “Notes on Hospital” and “Notes on Nursing”. In 1860, she opened her School of Nursing, financed by the Nightingale fund. For the first time, women could access an educational institution to be introduced to the profession of nurse with a structured approach.
Florence Nightingale and her biography impressively illustrate how changes can bring about substantial improvement.
The importance of Florence Nightingale in the history of healthcare
In the Victorian Age, women were not supposed to work outside from their homes. A woman in healthcare was a taboo topic. Due to the unpopularity of the profession, chances were low for women – they remained dependent on their family or husband.
Thanks to the establishment of her Nursing school, women gained access to higher education. Because of Florence Nightingale, the image of nurses rapidly improved and women could participate more actively in society. Her concept was adopted all around the globe, women could access secondary education and corresponding professions.
Nightingale’s affinity for data and statistics still shows in today’s models of documentation of
- Mortality rate
- Efficiency
- Bottlenecks
- Diseases
Her ways of displaying data in clear diagrams, such as Coxcomb, still contribute to a distinct way of collecting and analyzing data.
