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Florence Nightingale Research Paper

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Nursing may be one of the oldest known professions in human history. It is a well-respected profession that revolves itself around the care and comfort of patients who are in need of service. Since its establishment and the beginning of medicine, it has been an important component of patient care and recovery. There are many different types of nurses and nursing fields but they all share a common goal—the betterment of their patients.
Nursing can be traced back during the late middle ages (1000-1500). Due to overcrowding and poor sanitations monasteries were established throughout towns and cities. Medicine during the middle ages was extremely basic. Individuals around that time were unsure of what caused the diseases. Although, some had theories …show more content…

As reform changed the way in which medicine was implemented, the first official nursing school was established—the Kaiserwerth Deaconess Institute. One of its infamous students, Florence Nightingale, became known as the mother of Modern Nursing. Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820. She was the younger of two children. Nightingale's affluent British family belonged to elite social circles. From a very young age, Florence Nightingale was active in philanthropy, ministering to the ill and poor people in the village neighboring her family’s estate. By the time she was 16 years old, it was clear to her that nursing was her calling. She believed it to be her divine purpose. In late 1854, Nightingale received a letter from Secretary of War Sidney Herbert, asking her to organize a corps of nurses to tend to the sick and fallen soldiers in the Crimea. During the Crimean War (18540-1856), Nightingale arrived in Scutari, Turkey, the location of the British camp outside of Constantinople. The physician’s placed there did not originally welcome the incoming female nurses, but as the number of patients started to increase, help was needed. The hospital became overcrowded, undersupplied and unsanitary. Although, the arrival of Nightingale changed the way which the profession of nursing was carried out. She became known for providing personal care to her patients who not only aided them physically but comforted them psychologically. Florence Nightingale spent her night rounds giving personal care to the wounded, establishing her image as the 'Lady with the Lamp.' Under Nightingale’s leadership, the nurses brought cleanliness, sanitation, nutritious food and comfort to the wounded patients. As a result of their unwavering dedication to better the hospital condition, the death rate among the patients fell dramatically. When Nightingale returned

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