Her writings on Egypt, in particular, are testimony to her learning, literary skill, and philosophy of life. Sailing up the Nile as far as Abu Simbel in January 1850, she wrote of the Abu Simbel temples, "Sublime in the highest style of intellectual beauty, intellect without effort, without suffering ... not a feature is correct — but the whole effect is more expressive of spiritual grandeur than anything I could have imagined. It makes the impression upon one that thousands of voices do, uniting in one unanimous simultaneous feeling of enthusiasm or emotion, which is said to overcome the strongest man." [18]

Characteristically, she had expressed the desire that her funeral be a quiet and modest affair, despite the public’s desire to honor Nightingale—who tirelessly devoted her life to preventing disease and ensuring safe and compassionate treatment for the poor and the suffering. Respecting her last wishes, her relatives turned down a national funeral. The “Lady with the Lamp” was laid to rest inHampshire, England. The history of nursing is affected by shifts in attitude to illness, injury and who is responsible for the care of those in need Project Nightingale is part of the UK government’s response to the pandemic. Seven hospitals for COVID-19 patients have been announced, all named after Nightingale. “Like the new hospitals, Scutari was a pop-up field hospital,” says David. “It's a reminder about the need to improvise but provide the best possible care you can under those improvised circumstances.” Use the sources in this lesson to explore why Florence Nightingale is considered a significant figure and the founder of modern nursing.The Nightingale Nurse and Midwife Award was presented to 65 nurses and 10 midwives who now have the honour of being known as a ‘Nightingale Nurse’ or ‘Nightingale Midwife’. When Nightingale approached her parents and told them about her ambitions to become a nurse, they were not pleased. In fact, her parents forbade her to pursue nursing. During the Victorian Era, a young lady of Nightingale’s social stature was expected to marry a man of means—not take up a job that was viewed as lowly menial labor by the upper social classes. Individuals were later presented with their personally engraved badge and certificate by Toni Lynch, Interim Chief Nurse, and Fiona Hibberts, Co-Head of the Nightingale Academy. What inspires you? Perseverance is an attribute that really inspires me, the reason for that is it is something that I experience on a daily basis, by both staff and patients in very difficult situations. When I see patients persevere, it inspires me. It makes me feel proud that my colleagues and I have given someone the hope that they can overcome any obstacle if they follow through with the treatment and care needed. Other times, I (or someone else in my team) may be the one who is feeling challenged or feel under pressure. In times like this, my colleagues and I really come together as a team. Days, weeks and sometimes even months can be a challenge in our profession, but perseverance and patience will always yield a better outcome. A lot of the time there is an easier option than the option to preserve, and that is why I find it inspiring.

Our work in the RCN History of Nursing Forum often focuses on RCN members and their legacy, who all came after Nightingale.A BBC documentary reported that "Florence and her older sister Parthenope benefited from their father's advanced ideas about women's education. They studied history, mathematics, Italian, classical literature, and philosophy, and from an early age Florence, who was the more academic of the two girls, displayed an extraordinary ability for collecting and analysing data which she would use to great effect in later life." [7] Young Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale has frequently been described as “the lady with the lamp” and this quote relates to an article published about her in The Times newspaper 8th February 1855, which reads: Nurses and midwives from Guy’s and St Thomas’ have been recognised for their outstanding practice with a unique professional award.

However, she did have several important and long-lasting friendships with women. Later in life, she kept up a prolonged correspondence with Irish nun Sister Mary Clare Moore, with whom she had worked in Crimea. [64] Her most beloved confidante was Mary Clarke, an Englishwoman she met in Paris in 1837 and kept in touch with throughout her life. [65] Until her death, Nightingale encouraged the development in nursing in Britain and abroad. The main reason we remember her is that she did a lot of work educating people about the importance of keeping hospitals clean and free from infection, and this work is carried on today in modern hospitals. Our team is highly skilled at managing patients who present with complex psychiatric conditions including psychosis, schizophrenia, and mania as well as patients with dual diagnoses. Throughout the U.S. Civil War, she was frequently consulted about how to best manage field hospitals. Nightingale also served as an authority on public sanitation issues in India for both the military and civilians, although she had never been to India herself.Take your investigation wider and compare the role of Florence Nightingale to Mary Seacole, her contemporary. What is the most rewarding part of being a mental health nurse at Nightingale Hospital? Being part of a mental health nurse at the Nightingale Hospital is rewarding because of the many wonderful people that I had, have and continue to work with. I have also had the opportunity to work with some amazing patients who unfortunately have been through some traumatic experiences, but are determined to go on with their lives.