nursing and health profession.Florence Nightingale was born in 1820. She was known as the "lady with the lamp" and she shaped nursing into the profession it is today. When Florence was sixteen she said she heard God's voice instructing her she had a special mission in life. She thought that her mission was to help people. She came from a wealthy family and they were aghast when she strayed away from social events to study health reforms for the poor.
Florence studied nursing in Paris and later became the superintendent of a women's hospital in London. An ugly war was fought in the Crimea in 1854. The British troops had inadequate health supplies and the secretary of war asked Florence to take charge. The hospital was in a very sad state. There were rats everywhere, the place was dirty and there were not enough beds or bandages. There weren't any towels, sinks or soap. She took command and set about cleaning the place up and setting up schedules for food and care. Florence earned her nickname because she walked the floors at night checking on patients and writing letters to military officials in Britain demanding supplies. Many officers and doctors disliked Florence because she wouldn't put up with excuses.
Eventually she was in charge of all the hospitals in the Crimea. She saved many lives and made many changes in the
nursing and health profession.
She spent the rest of her years doing administration work. She was instrumental in starting the Royal Commission on the Health of the Army. Florence started the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at Thomas's Hospital in London. She became the first woman to win the British Order of Merit. The light she carried in the Crimea War is a symbol for the freedom of women to choose their own work, caring for the sick and concern for the well being of the soldier. She died in 1910.
