Who was Florence Nightingale?

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) is a well-recognized name in the history of nursing. In fact, she is the Founder of Modern Nursing. She earned this title in her systematic approaches to caring for those injured in the Crimean War and her establishment of a school of nursing at St. Thomas Hospital which she also founded.

Florence was actually born in Italy but her family returned to England and she was raised as an upper-class cultured English woman. She preferred a life of service and studied what she needed to care for the soldiers wounded in the Crimean War. She developed a system of nursing that could be taught to others.

While serving the Crimean War wounded, Florence kept careful records and noted that more soldiers died of the prevailing poor environmental conditions than of their wounds. She presented her findings to authorities who made changes in sanitation and air quality and death rates decreased. Thus, she was working with medical statistics and the presentation of data in a manner convincing to others.

Not only did she bring about evidence-based changes in the care of the wounded. she also founded St. Thomas Hospital and established a curriculum for nursing education. She sought to make healthcare a better place and she is venerated for her brilliance and her service.