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Florence Nightingale

Decent Essays

Colleen Worth Florence Nightingale January 28, 2008

Throughout history, wars have emphasized the need for nurses. During the Crimean War (1854-1856), the deficiency of care given to soldiers led to a public outcry in Great Britain. Florence Nightingale played an impressive role in addressing this problem.
Florence Nightingale was born in Italy on May 12, 1820 into a rich, upper class, wealthy and intellectual family. She believed she was “called by God to help others and to improve the well-being of mankind.” She was determined to become a nurse despite societal restrictions and opposition from her family. She received three months of training in nursing in Kaiserwerth in 1847. After studying in Paris with the Sisters of Charity, …show more content…

She used this money to develop the Nightingale Training School for Nurses, which opened in 1860. Its graduates traveled to other countries to manage hospitals and institute nurse-training programs (Kozier, 2004).
Florence Nightingale defined nursing as “the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery” (Kozier, 2004). Nightingale considered a clean, well-ventilated, and quiet environment essential for recovery. She linked health with five environmental factors: pure or fresh air, pure water, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and light. She believed that deficiencies in these five factors produced lack of health or illness. She also stressed the importance of keeping the client warm, maintaining a noise-free environment, and attending to the client’s diet (Kozier, 2004).
Florence Nightingale was considered the pioneer of modern nursing. She sets an example for nurses everywhere of compassion and commitment to patient care. Throughout her life she continued to improve health standards. In recognition of her hard work she was awarded the Royal Red Cross in 1883 by Queen Victoria. She received many honors throughout her life including the Order of Merit in 1907 (Florence Nightingale Museum Trust, 2003).

References
Florence Nightingale Museum Trust. (2003). Florence Nightingale. Article retrieved January 28, 2008, from http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/flo2.htm
Hunt, L., Martin, T.,

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