Florence Nightingale Research Paper

Arya Afshang #2
The Principles of Health Science
Mrs.Jackson
26 October 2014
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was an English nurse born in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820. Nightingale was the founder of modern nursing and made outstanding contributions to the knowledge and improvement of public health. Throughout her childhood her goal was to achieve independence, importance in some field of activity, and obedience to God through service to society. In 1844 when she was 24 Nightingale decided that she wanted to work in hospitals. Her family strongly disapproved of her plans due to the terrible hospital conditions at the time. Nightingale still managed to visit some hospitals.Her parents finally gave her
received to attend a German training school for nurses and female teachers at Kaiserworth. In 1853 she became superintendent of the London charity-supported Institution for Sick Gentlewomen in Distressed Circumstances. This opportunity allowed her to become independent and also to try out new ideas in managing an institution within a non religious setting.
In 1854 Nightingale organized a party for service in the Crimean War in which Great Britain, France, and Sardinia fought against Russia. The nurses arrived at Constantinople and saw that the conditions at the British base hospital at were awful and grew worse as the number of sick and wounded soldiers increased. The British army did not have enough medical services and used what it had very poorly. Nightingale saw that her first task was to be accepted by her peers which because of her determination she eventually was. Soon after the war ended Nightingale left Constantinople.
In the next years she presided over the founding of the Nightingale School for the training of nurses at St.Thomas's Hospital in London, England.
In 1858 she was recognized as the leading expert on military and civilian sanitation in India which was a British colony. In 1907 Nightingale was the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit. Nightingale was known to not have much of a personal life and when asked why she would reply “ I am on this world in order to serve God.” Nightingale strongly disapproved of gender equality because she believed that women were selfish, also she saw herself as the mother of the men of the British army and often called them “her children”. Florence Nightingale never really recovered from the physical strain of the Crimean War. Despite having poor health, Nightingale worked tirelessly until her death at 90. As a passionate statistician, she conducted extensive research and analysis. She published over 200 reports and pamphlets on a wide range of issues including hygiene, hospital administration and design, midwifery and health care for the poor. After 1861 she rarely left her home and was confined to her bed much of the time. She died on August 13, 1910, in London,
England.
Florence Nightingale has had a long lasting legacy on health care by serving as a model for nurses today.
Her vision completely changed society's approach to nursing. She understood the valuable contribution nurses could make in health care. She was committed to personalised care and saw that sensitivity to patient needs was key to recovery. And she believed that it was important to look after an individual's health, mental and physical, as well as sickness in order to make sure that individual had the complete health which they deserve this ideal is the basic goal of the healthcare field today and always will be because of Florence Nightingale's remarkable
achievements.
References
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Florence Nightingale International Foundation. "Florence Nightingale." Florence Nightingale International Foundation. Florence Nightingale International Foundation, 1 Jan. 1999. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.fnif.org/nightingale.htm>.
Florence Nightingale Museum. "THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMAN IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN AFTER QUEEN VICTORIA HERSELF ACHIEVEMENTS." The Florence Nightingale Museum. Florence Nightingale Museum, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Reynolds Historical Library. "UAB - Reynolds Historical Library - The Life of Florence Nightingale." UAB - Reynolds Historical Library - The Life of Florence Nightingale. Reynolds Historical Library, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. <http://www.uab.edu/reynolds/nightingale/life>.
"Florence Nightingale." The World Book Encyclopedia 2012. Vol. 14. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2012. 420. Print. N and O.