Florence Nightingale And The Filthy Hospital

Florence Nightingale was one of the most influential woman figures in British history. Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, at the Villa Colombia in Florence, Italy and died peacefully in her sleep on August 13, 1910. She is buried in the graveyard at St. Margaret Church in East Wellow, Hampshire. She was an upper-class girl from Florence, Italy who had dreams of becoming a nurse, but her family strongly opposed the idea. In 1844 she decided to enter the field of nursing and improved hospitals sanitation exponentially. Nightingale had a strong will and stark determination which helped her to become a great nurse.

Florence Nightingale was an immense impact on nursing, who “became famous for her revolutionary work as a nurse during the Crimean War” (Kent 30). “She dedicated her life to improving conditions in hospitals, beginning in an army hospital during the Crimean War,” (3 Registered). Her actions were then used by “concerned individuals, rather than by professionally trained nurses” during the Civil War, (Registered 279). Many of Nightingale’s ideas were brought into modern times, but with the improvement of technology and licensed nurses. With the influence and patience of Florence Nightingale, nursing has evolved into an outstanding career.

Florence nightingale was born on the 12th of may 1820. She was considered as the founder of modern nursing. She started her carrier as a nurse for poor and sick at the age of 24. During Crimean war she came to prominence while serving as a nurse, where she tended to wounded soldiers. During her service she took notice of the dirtiness and deterioration of the military hospitals. Thereby she took action by making sanitary improvements establishing standards for clean and safe hospitals. Thus she helped to bring down

Florence Nightingale is remembered throughout the world for her heroic, almost superhuman labors in the field of nursing. Florence Nightingale was born in Italy in 1820 and was named Florence after her birthplace. A brilliant child, Florence attained outstanding academic achievement in her years attending school. Florence grew up to be a lively and attractive young woman, admired in her families elite social circle and was expected to make a good marriage, but Florence had other concerns.

“In these conditions, it was not surprising that in army hospitals, war wounds only accounted for one death in six. Diseases such as typhus, cholera, and dysentery were the main reasons why the death rate was so high amongst wounded soldiers” (Spartacus, 2011, ¶ 10). Nightingale went on to establish sanitary guidelines to improve nursing quality, statistical ways of obtaining data, and most importantly environmental factors to improve patient quality. What we know of Florence Nightingale is that although she was born into a wealthy family, she had a different drive in her life towards helping other humans. Nightingale demonstrated pure altruism, but why? What constitutes for her behaviors and traits, there must be a key to unlocking the personality development of Florence Nightingale.

the world with a team of trained matrons & nurses. The standards of nursing improved and

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy. Her parents named her after the city she was born in. She was born on May 12,1980, she was raised mostly in Derbyshire England. Many people when they hear Florence Nightingale think about her as a nurse and for her fight for better hospital care. Florence did a lot more in her life than achieve better hospital conditions, and become a nurse. She was a brilliant mathematician, and used statistics to apply them to achieve her reforms. Florence was a well-educated woman in a number of fields other than math;

If Nightingale were alive today, she would find it strange hospitals exist at all. She regarded them as belonging to a stage of "imperfect civilization", and envisaged their end by the year 2000. Florence would have understood the growth of the primary care movement. Having its roots in her own work, she would have been alarmed by the conditions of acute care evident in some hospitals today. High bed-occupancy rates, the poor hygiene, and the lack of space and of privacy .All of which go against the central tenets of her writings.

Imagine a room in a hospital; you are lying on a bed, with linens since your admission, the room is very cold and dark at the same time, without proper ventilation. The bathroom you have does not have proper drainage; outside environment is as noisy as having a construction site as a neighbor. Health care providers come in just for the job and merely not care about you; their hands are not even clean and washed. Imagine these kinds of situation, what kind of environment are you having? Do you a place to heal or a place to die? Since the beginning of Modern Nursing, these scenes are commonly practiced and are usual in a way that it is considered a normal place to rest and be taken care of.

Florence Nightingale a systemic thinker and a “passionate statistician” (McDonald, 2001). According to McDonald (2001) Nightingales work in nursing and social reform was informed by religious faith or philosophy that favored a systemic approach. The goal of nursing has remained unchanged, since the time of Nightingales model, nursing is to provide a safe and caring environment that promotes patient health and well-being.

When one hears the name, Florence Nightingale, the word nurse is instantly paired with it because of her contributions to nursing. Florence Nightingale became a national heroine after nursing the British troops at Scutari in the Crimean War during 1854-56 and became a pioneer for nursing using sanitary and administrative techniques. According to editor, Lynn McDonald, in Florence Nightingale- An Introduction to Her Life and Family: Collected Works of Florence Nightingale, Vol. 1, “Nightingale’s work on the foundation of nursing was a life-long preoccupation, but it was a part of a broader concern to reform public healthcare, prevent disease, and promote health” (84). However, many historians believe her ignorance of sanitation caused the death toll at Scutari to rise.

Nursing has evolved as a scientific discipline and is starting to emerge into professional status. One of the great leaders in nursing who helped this change take place was Florence Nightingale. Nightingale is considered as a pioneer in the nursing profession. She has contributed a lot in the field of nursing and her works are considered as assets, and will be remembered for many years.

On May 12, 1820 Florence Nightingale was born into a wealthy family located in Florence, Italy. In her family it was frowned upon to work outside the home, but as she grew up she often helped the poor and ill in her village. In Spring of 1844 Florence eventually came to conclusion that being a nurse was her God-given calling. Most people today would call becoming a nurse as a good goal, but back then it was the idea was considered impossible. The hospitals were a place where people avoided and it was dark and dirty. Florence wanted to change that all.

Florence Nightingale was one of the historical figures that impressed me. Her holistic aspect, and what she did, really inspires me. During the Crimean War, she took care of the wounded soldiers by rounding up nurses, setting up kitchens with adequate nutrition, provided recreational facilities, and improved the quantity of supplies needed for the care (“Florence Nightingale and the Red Cross”, 2016). Because of her dedication, Florence Nightingale was recognized for her achievements in health care. The hard work she put into training the nurses was brought down from generation to generation, where today, we provide the holistic care Florence Nightingale worshiped.

Florence Nightingale was a visionary ahead of her time, someone who saw things for the way they could be rather than just the way they were. One area in which she envisioned a change was in the conditions of workhouse infirmaries, facilities for the poor that were notorious for their filth and spread of disease (McDonald, L., 2006b). Florence recognized that skilled nursing care, along with proper organization and structure of workhouse infirmaries could significantly reduce the transmission of disease and, in fact, improve the overall health of the population being served (McDonald, L., 2003). Through undertaking the start of this reform,