Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale, 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence during the Crimean War for her pioneering work in nursing, and was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night to tend injured soldiers. Nightingale laid the foundation stone of professional nursing with the principles summarized in the book Notes on Nursing. The Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses was named in her honor, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on her birthday.

Florence Nightingale's Impact on Nursing

The first official nurses’ training program, the Nightingale School for Nurses, opened in 1860. The mission of the school was to train nurses to work in hospitals, work with the poor, and to teach. This intended that students cared for people in their homes, an appreciation that is still advancing in reputation and professional opportunity for nurses today.

Florence Nightingale's lasting contribution has been her role in founding the modern nursing profession. She set an example of compassion, commitment to patient care, and diligent and thoughtful hospital administration.

The work of her School of Nursing continues today as the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King's College London. The Nightingale Building in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Southampton is also named after her. International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday each year.

The Florence Nightingale Declaration Campaign, established by nursing leaders throughout the world through the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health (NIGH), aims to build a global grassroots movement to achieve two United Nations Resolutions for adoption by the UN General Assembly of 2008 which will declare: The International Year of the Nurse–2010 (the centennial of Nightingale's death); The UN Decade for a Healthy World–2011 to 2020 (the bicentennial of Nightingale's birth). NIGH also works to rekindle awareness about the important issues highlighted by Florence Nightingale, such as preventive medicine and holistic health. So far, The Florence Nightingale Declaration has been signed by over 18,500 signatories from 86 countries.

During the Vietnam War, Nightingale inspired many U.S. Army nurses, sparking a renewal of interest in her life and work. Her admirers include Country Joe of Country Joe and the Fish, who has assembled an extensive website in her honor.

Four hospitals in Istanbul are named after Nightingale: F. N. Hastanesi in S,is,li (the biggest private hospital in Turkey), Metropolitan F.N. Hastanesi in Gayrettepe, Avrupa F.N. Hastanesi in Mecidiyeköy, and K?z?ltoprak F.N. Hastanesi in Kadiköy, all belonging to the Turkish Cardiology Foundation.

The Agostino Gemelli Medical School[29] in Rome, the first university-based hospital in Italy and one of its most respected medical centres, honoured Nightingale's contribution to the nursing profession by giving the name "Bedside Florence" to a wireless computer system it developed to assist nursing.

There are many foundations named after Florence Nightingale. Most are nursing foundations, but there is also Nightingale Research Foundation in Canada, dedicated to the study and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome, which Nightingale is believed to have had.

There is a psychological effect known as the "Florence Nightingale Effect", whereby patients fall in love with their caregivers.

Florence Nightingale. (2009, October 21). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:28, October 21, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florence_Nightingale&oldid=321251725

Florence Nightingale and Bipolar Disorder

"It is my opinion that Florence Nightingale suffered from bipolar disorder, a mental illness characterized by alternating highs and lows," says Kathy Wisner, M.D., M.S., professor of Psychiatry and OB/GYN at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "Florence heard voices and experienced a number of severe depressive episodes in her teens and early 20's -- symptoms consistent with the onset of bipolar disorder," says Dr. Wisner, an expert in mood disorders.

Source: FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE SUFFERED FROM MENTAL ILLNESS

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