Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
The Lady of the Lamp Left a Legacy for Healthcare and for Women
Oct 22, 2008
The wealthy parents of Florence Nightingale had spent two years travelling on an extended honeymoon and named her after the famous city of her birth. Florence was educated at home by her father. She excelled at mathematics, particularly statistics and the visual presentation of information. She was expected to make a ‘good marriage’ and to live the life expected of a woman of her status. The young Florence however, rebelled against the stereotypical role demanded of her. A calling from God who asked her to carry out his work supported her conviction. At that time, she did not know what work this would entail.
Nightingale and Sanitary Reform
Florence began caring for those less well off, visiting the sick and the poor in small villages and workhouses. Following a public scandal fuelled by the death of a pauper, she became influential in improving the care delivered in infirmaries. This work attracted the attention of Charles Villiers, president of the Poor Law Board and Florence’s activities contributed to the major reform of the Poor Laws.
Florence trained to be a nurse in Germany and in Paris, despite the fierce objections of her family. Her chosen path considered inappropriate for a woman of her status and education. In October 1854, Florence was sent to a British military base in the Crimea. She took with her 38 other nurse volunteers whom she had trained. They were appalled by the conditions in which they found the injured soldiers and Florence immediately set about cleaning and re-organising the hospital. However, it wasn’t until the defective sewerage and ventilation systems were improved that death rates at the camp began to reduce. It was here that Florence earned the nickname ‘Lady of the Lamp’ as she made her rounds of the wards. She would later establish the Royal Commission on the health of the army and produced a report, which reformed the medical care provided.
Nightingale and Nursing
On her return from the Crimean War, Florence was given a fund with which she set up the first nurse training institutes. Prior to this, nurses were given very little formal training and were most likely to do the cooking. The first of these institutions were established in London. During this time, Florence wrote and published a book ‘Notes on Nursing’ that defined ‘what nursing was and what it was not’. This text would help to shape the formal curriculum and programme of nursing education. It has since been translated into a number of foreign languages and is still in print today. Florence involved herself personally in the education of nurses, providing supervision, advice, and support.
Nightingale and Public Health
Florence contributed a great deal to the development of hospital planning and administration and held a firm belief that dirty and poorly ventilated conditions led to the increase of infection and therefore morbidity. She utilised her mathematical skills in a statistical comprehensive study of rural India and its sanitation, which led to improved care and public health services throughout the country.
Florence Nightingale died at the grand age of 90 and despite failing health had continued to contribute to medical, nursing and social reform. She should also be remembered for her influence on the women’s movement with her objection to Victorian principles and expectations. Florence Nightingale devoted her life to enhance the lives of others at an individual and international level and she epitomised her definition of a nurse as ‘devoted and obedient’ to her cause.
References:
Notes On Nursing – online text of the publication
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