FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE: BIOGRAPHY, THEORY AND CONTRIBUTIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) was a prominent British nurse and statesman known for being the first theorist in the area of ​​nursing. In addition, she was the founder and mother of modern nursing, as well as a social reformer.

He was in charge of the care of British soldiers during the Crimean War. The nurse spent several hours treating the soldiers in a special and personalized way during the nights at the hospital. For having worked so long in the dark, she became known as "the lady with the lamp."

Henry Hering (1814-1893), via Wikimedia Commons

Her efforts to formalize her nursing education led her to establish the first science-based nursing school at St. Thomas Hospital in London.

He also developed a theory based on the ideal medical environment, as well as the proper care that nurses should have with their patients. Such proposals are practiced in medicine today.

She was a member of the Royal Statistical Society, being the first woman to access that society. Today, International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on May 12, commemorating the birth of Florence Nightingale.

Biography

Early life

Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy, to a wealthy British family. It was named in honor of her hometown, "Florence."

Her parents were William Edward Nightingale and Frances Nightingale Smith, nicknamed "Fanny." Her older sister, Frances Parthenope, was named after a Greek settlement in the city of Naples, Italy.

In 1821, the Nightingale family moved to London. There, both sisters were educated. Florence was a precocious and intellectual child. Her father was interested in her two daughters having the best education: the young women were instructed in history, philosophy, literature, mathematics and languages.

On the other hand, Florence was never a participant in traditional female activities; otherwise, she preferred to read the great philosophers and devote her free time to study. She was noted for finding comfort in religious beliefs and devotions.

As time passed, she became increasingly motivated by the reduction of human suffering, in the service of humanity and God.

Florence cared for several of her sick relatives inside her home. The personal satisfaction of doing this activity is considered the most important motivation Nightingale had to train as a nurse.

Studies and early career

In 1837, he had his first experience serving his fellow man. He saw these actions as “calls from God” and his religious beliefs played a fundamental role in his professional life, particularly in the motivational field of his medical practice.

Despite this, both her mother and sister pressured her to play the role of wife and mother. They warned her that the activities she was pursuing were not fit for a lady. In opposition to her mother and sister, Nightingale worked hard to begin her studies in nursing.

In 1850, she managed to enroll in the Institution of Protestant Deaconesses in Kaiserswerth, Germany. There she learned basic nursing skills, the importance of patient observation and good hospital organization.

Then she moved back to London, where she got a job as a nurse in a Harley Street hospital to care for the sick in town. Her performance at the site impressed her employers, who promoted her to the position of site superintendent.

She also volunteered at a Middlesex hospital for a time, dealing with a cholera outbreak and unsanitary conditions that led to the spread of the disease. This inspired Nightingale to improve the hygiene of medical institutions.

Suitors and friends

Florence Nightingale has been described as an attractive and elegant woman with a charming personality and a flirtatious smile. For this reason, she had some suitors who wanted to take her hand.

The most persistent suitor was the politician Richard Monckton Milnes. Having longed for her for 9 years, Florence rejected him by not considering herself a traditional woman; She argued that marriage would imply a carelessness in her work as a nurse.

Later, he met the British statesman Sidney Herbert, who had served as England's secretary of war. He and Nightingale became great friends; Herbert even facilitated Nightingale's nursing work in many locations.

Nightingale became Herbert's direct advisor during his political campaigns. It is said that her father helped her financially so that she could comfortably exercise her career and personal life.

Nightingale's involvement in the Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict that began in 1853 between the Russian Empire - in the hands of the Romanov dynasty - and the alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, Great Britain and Sardinia. The cause was the struggle between the restoration of the Catholic Church by the alliance against the imposition of the Orthodox Church by the Russians.

The conflict unfolded in the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea. Although the allies started the conflict on the right foot, a large number of diseases began to spread and the armies did not have enough medicines, doctors or nurses to fight them.

Herbert, being secretary of war, called Nightingale to collaborate in the conflict. The woman left for the Crimea with a group of nurses, many of whom were volunteers and inexperienced in the area of ​​health.

When Nightingale's team arrived on the scene, it presented a very complicated picture for the doctors: the wounded soldiers were receiving inadequate treatment, significantly worsening the already precarious health of the wounded.

Furthermore, there were few supplies and medical supplies; hygiene was inadequate, which resulted in serious infections and putrefactions on the skin of the combatants.

In fact, many soldiers died from illnesses not related to the war, with the complicity of some doctors and their negligence.

The lady with the lamp

As the conflict unfolded, an article in The Times newspaper published a detailed description of Nightingale's work. Since that publication, Nightingale became recognized in England as "The Lady with the Lamp."

When the doctors left and the sick were left alone in the dark hospital, Nightingale walked all the corridors with his lamp observing each of the sick people in the place. The nurse's care stood out for being personalized, providing very good care to each patient.

Activities and last years

Years after the war, Nightingale established a training school for nurses at St. Thomas Hospital in London. On the other hand, she carried out several works that laid the foundations for future research in the area of health worldwide.

As the years passed, Nightingale began to suffer from severe depression, supposedly associated with brucellosis and spondylitis. These illnesses caused him to spend a lot of time in bed. Furthermore, her mental capacity deteriorated significantly.

Although she had stopped writing due to her mental condition, she was still interested in the affairs of cutting-edge medicine.

On August 13, 1910, at the age of 90, he died in his bed while sleeping in a room in his house. His body was interred in St Margaret's Church in East Wellow, England.

Theory

When Florence Nightingale returned from the war, she began a series of projects and works that were based on the experiences of her early days as a nurse and in her wartime service.

In 1859, he wrote the work entitled Notes on Nursing. He used this publication to publicize his theories about what he considered correct in the field of nursing. In fact, the book is considered a perfect introduction to classical nursing.

While the book was written primarily for his nursing students, it served as the basis for study and research for many nursing schools worldwide.

Nightingale environmental theory

In his work Notes on Nursing, he reflected his thoughts on environmental theory in the area of ​​health. According to Nightingale, the environment is essential for the recovery of the patient, as well as for the correct development of biological and physiological processes.

Nightingale believed that there are a number of external factors that can affect patient improvement and that nurses should be unconditionally committed to each patient.

The purity of the air each patient breathes is critical to effective improvement, Nightingale theorized. For her, the patient must breathe in a completely aseptic environment with a comfortable temperature for the body, so that he does not get cold or overheated.

The water must be pure. Nightingale believed that well water is impure and must be purified with heat (by boiling it, for example). However, the nurse considered that well water should be completely excluded from medical practices.

The British claimed that direct natural light is essential for the patient to recover quickly from their illness. Nightingale never failed to emphasize the importance of neatness in the place where patients recover.

Warm environment and documentation

During the time Nightingale worked, conditions in the hospitals were not good. The doctors were extremely poor and the hygiene was disastrous. Often times, many patients were treated by doctors with little experience, further complicating their health conditions.

Within Nightingale's environmental theory, the provision of a quiet, warm and noise-free environment stands out. The nurse had to make an evaluation of the sick patient and attend to her needs according to the results obtained from said evaluation.

In addition, he saw the need to document the previous evaluation, the time of ingestion of the patient's food and the evaluation of the medical effects to study the progress of his health.

Contributions

Sanitary reform

In addition to his great contribution in the Crimean War, he managed to create a social reform in medical care and nursing practices. He even met with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom to discuss the need to reform the British military establishment.

Nightingale meticulously observed the operation of many hospitals. She concluded that many patient deaths and spread of disease were due to inefficiency of hospital staff.

Beyond the lack of professional expertise in hospitals, many nurses and doctors did not have the clinical resources to treat all patients. From there, Nightingale established a commission together with royalty where to give statistical support to the conclusions of her studies.

Polar area diagram

Beyond his achievements in the area of ​​health, Nightingale pioneered the visual representation of statistical graphs to more easily capture the quantitative data of his research.

Nightingale was able to refine the pie chart method first created in 1801, but with an innovative twist to more accurately represent the data.

This modification is now called the polar area diagram, although at that time it was known as the Nightingale rose diagram. The diagram is equivalent to a modern circular histogram that was used to illustrate the mortality statistics of patients in hospitals.

Such a feat led her to become the first woman to be invited to the Royal Statistical Society. Her invitation came in 1859.

Women's movement

In Nightingale's time women did not aspire to professional careers or studies. Their purpose was to get married, have children, and dedicate themselves to household activities. Nightingale's family had great financial freedoms, but her father believed that women should be educated.

Although she was known for her contributions to the fields of nursing, statistics, and mathematics, she also promoted feminism in England. Florence Nightingale wrote more than 200 articles, brochures and books throughout her life making references to the social role that women played.

Theology

Nightingale expressed his religious point of view through articles and texts; was characterized by being a faithful believer of God and of the Church of England with orientations towards orthodox Anglicanism.

Throughout his life, Nightingale felt that religion should manifest itself in care, service, and love for others. He was able to write a theological text entitled Suggestions for thought, whose work captures his heterodox ideas of religion.

Nightingale was a faithful believer in universal reconciliation. This concept revolves around the idea that those who die will reach heaven, even without being saved.

References

1. Florence Nightingale, much more than the lady with the lamp, Women with science website, (2017). Taken from mujeresconciencia.com
2. Florence Nightingale, Louise Selanders, (nd). Taken from Britannica.com
3. Florence Nightingale, Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
4. Nightingale's environmental theory, Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
5. Florence Nightingale Biography, Portal Biography, (nd). Taken from biography.com