Florence Nightingale the First Nurse

The Lady With The Lamp Created Modern Nursing

Oct 5, 2009

Visionary, campaigner, activist and social reformer Florence Nightingale was all of these and she created the modern profession of nursing.

The image of Florence Nightingale moving through the ranks of British soldiers at Scutari, stopping here and there to offer encouraging words and to lay a gentle hand on a fevered brow is familiar and evocative.

Named after the city of her birth Florence Nightingale was born in Tuscany on May the 12th 1820. To the despair of her family Florence railed against Victorian conventions; she was a devout Christian who from an early age claimed she had a calling to work for the greater good.

Florence's Calling

Taking an interest in the plight of the sick local villagers Florence realised her calling – to the consternation of her family she was to become a nurse. Nursing was an unacceptable occupation performed by disreputable and untrained women. An image graphically immortalised by Sarah Gamp in Charles Dickens’ novel Martin Chuzllewit. Victorian hospitals were places where only the destitute and dying would go. Nurses were seen as alcoholic, thieves and good only for attending to the quick and the dead.

Florence at Kaisserwerth

But Florence’s resolve was strengthened when she paid a visit to Kaisserwerth there she visited a hospital and nursing school. It was a defining moment in Florence’s life. On her return to England she managed to persuade her parents to allow her to return to Kaiserwerth where she studied a short nursing course. Back in London, Florence become Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen in Illness at No. 1 Harley Street.

Crimnea War and Scutari Hospital

In March 1845 Britain declared war on Russia, before long The Times was reporting the filthy conditions under which wounded and dying servicemen were cared for. Without proper nutrition, fresh air, and clean bedding the vermin infested wards and lice infested men killed more soldiers than did the war.

Florence was distressed at these conditions and fired with a determination to change the conditions for the better. Against the opposition of the army’s top brass her friend the Minister of War, Stanley Herbert agreed to her request to form a small brigade of like-minded ladies to travel to Scutari and tend to the sick and injured. Facing resistance from the medical staff Florence was ignored and prevented from performing any functions at all.

However, Florence was not idle she took inventories, itemised essential supplies, analysed the work done and kept statistics, she wrote letters pleading to be allowed to carry out the work for which they had been sent. But the military men were resistant.

Battle of Inkerman

This changed with the Battle of Inkerman when the doctors at Scutari were overwhelmed with severely wounded and dying soldiers; they were forced to seek Miss Nightingale’s help. She immediately set her ladies to work in basic housekeeping tasks, scrubbing the wards, ridding the area of rats and vermin, obtaining clean dressings and water and throwing open the wards to fresh air. The results were spectacular, soldiers recovered more quickly, infections and death rates were decimated and morale improved.

After the Crimean War Florence returns home leading a life of a recluse; never making any public addresses or appearances. Instead she devoted her time and efforts to examining of public health needs and to sanitising the unsavoury hospital conditions.

Notes on Nursing

The culmination of her efforts came with the publication of her work “Notes on Nursing’ first published in 1859. The book was an instant sellout the royalties of which provided Florence with her only wage. In 1860 the Nightingale School of Nursing was established at St Thomas Infirmary (now St Thomas’ Hospital) and the profession of nursing was born.

Florence suffered many episodes of physical and psychological collapse, permanently confining herself to her bedroom, from where she continued her crusade to improve Britons’ health.

In 1908 King Edward VII awarded her the Order of Merit. She died in August 1910 at the age of 90 and declined a burial in Westminster Abbey preferring to be interred with her family. A single line carved on a headstone “F.N. Born 1820 Died 1910.

Many women have changed the human lot for the better but none more than Florence Nightingale.

The copyright of the article Florence Nightingale the First Nurse in Historical Biographies is owned by John Howe. Permission to republish Florence Nightingale the First Nurse in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.