Florence Nightingale and the History of Christianity in Nursing

Florence Nightingale was the founder for nursing. Even though Nightingale’s family was against the career of nursing, she pursued her passion of learning to care for the ill. She strived to help the people sick and in need. Nightingale showed her caring heart when she helped cure soldiers during the Crimean War. She showed her compassion as she helped the wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Over time, Nightingale noticed the unsanitary conditions at the base hospital. Since the conditions were extremely unsanitary, Nightingale recorded the mortality rate of the soldiers. According to her data, the soldiers hospitalized were seven times more likely to pass away from unsanitary environments rather than injuries from the

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.

person as someone with psychological, intellectual, and spiritual components. This is evidenced by her acknowledgment of the importance of variety. For example, she wrote of “the degree . . . to which the nerves of the sick suffer from seeing the same walls, the same ceiling, the same surroundings” (Nightingale, 1860). A nurse was defined as any woman who had “charge of the personal health of somebody” whether well, as in caring for babies and children, or sick, as an “invalid” (Nightingale, 1860). Above all, nursing was “service to God in relief of man”; it was a “calling” and “God’s work” (Bostridge, 2008). All nursing actions were guided by the nurses’ caring, which was guided by underlying ideas about God. Nightingale placed spiritual needs of the patient right at the top along with caring for the patient. She taught about obedience in relation to nursing and this revealed that she was creating a profession that was based on the role of wife and mother. In her teaching, she tried to concentrate more on the lifestyle and moral conduct of the nurses, rather than their professional skills. The measurement of the art of nursing could not be accomplished

Florence Nightingale is known as the founder of modern nursing. Her contributions and influence not only to the nursing profession, but to the public health care system, is unparalleled. She was instrumental in establishing multiple processes and practices that are still in current practice. She has influenced many nursing theorist and prevailing theories during her career. Many of her changes continue to influence theory development today.

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.

The incidence which is mostly remembered in reference to the services of Florence Nightingale is the leadership of Florence Nightingale after the war, after her death her biographers called her “lady with the lamp”. The readings on Florence Nightingale will depict that she was a great social activist. She was continuously involved in the services to help and nurture mankind. She possessed a heart of an angel. Nightingales activities were related to her belief that one should try to help humanity in order to be near to the God. She really loved her God and all her writings were related to this topic. As stated by Nightingale "It is not, God will not punish, we shall therefore not surely die. It is, God loves us, and therefore why will we die? One says that God is careless, the other that He is loving." In an unpublished sermon she insisted on God's "real personal interest in our welfare," not just His "mercy generally." It was hard to believe this, she acknowledged, "But if this belief once takes possession of our hearts, then are we redeemed indeed."

Florence Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing. The Lady with the Lamp is her utmost and chief nickname of all. She was born to William and Frances Nightingale, a wealthy Upper-class English family on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy. She was named after the city where she was born. She died on August 13, 1910, at the great age of 90. While most people know that Nightingale was influential in the field of nursing, they might not know how much she truly impacted

Salladay, S. A., & Shelly, J. A. (1997). Spirituality in nursing theory and practice: dilemmas for Christian bioethics. Christian Bioethics,3(1), 20-38.

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.

As the Crimean war came around, Nightingale gathered a group of the few skilled nurses she could find and was determined to provide secular care though the British society was rooted in religion and was deep in religious conflict at that time (Meehan, 2012). Often spirituality would take a backseat to academics and professionalism when it came to training nurses (Meehan, 2012). Since that shift in priorities, spirituality is still often taking the backseat to everything else when it comes to training and patient care. After looking at how spirituality effects health care and the need for it, many places are implementing it back into their assessments while others are struggling to see the benefits.

Florence Nightingale was born in 1820 in Florence, Italy, and was named after her birthplace. Nightingale died in 1910. She was a brilliant mathematician, and used statistics in

Cherry and Jacob state that Nightingale “introduced principles of asepsis and infection control, a system for transcribing physician’s orders, and a procedure to maintain patient records” (Cherry & Jacob, 2014, p. 8). Florence Nightingale also established the first nursing school in 1860 at the St. Thomas’ Hospital of London (Cherry & Jacob, 2014). Not only is Nightingale the founder of professional nursing, she is also recognized for contributing to nursing research, involvement in political activism, and for her establishment to provide formal nursing education to pursing nurses (Cherry & Jacob, 2014).

She was raised in a wealthy family and was educated by her father, William E. Nightingale. Florence learned to be independent and served God through services to show her obedience to him. In 1844, Florence Nightingale acknowledged she had a passion to work as a nurse. Although Nightingale’s

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.

Throughout Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale expresses the importance of proper care to patients. Another factor of nursing that was effected by Nightingale is the professionalism of nursing and how nursing is not only a science, but an art. Nightingale states how numerous subjects in nursing should be improved upon. The specific chapters that show how Nightingale has improved nursing within Notes on Nursing were Light, Personal Cleanliness, Chattering Hopes and Advices, and Ventilation and Warming. In chapter 9, Light, Florence Nightingale emphasizes the impact of sunlight on the patient and how it improves their health. Personal cleanliness was reviewed in chapter 11. Nightingale explores the importance cleanliness has on a patient. Within chapter 12, Nightingale states how to properly advise the sick, as well as give hope to patients. In chapter 1, Ventilation and Warming, Nightingale states the need for pure air within a patient’s room. These chapters express the importance of properly taking care of patients. The focus of this paper is how it was applied during Nightingale’s time and how it is still relevant today in nursing practice. The chapters within Notes on Nursing have had a profound impact on the practice of nursing today.