The Lady with the Lamp Who Changed Healthcare Forever

By Eshal Rizvi, Research Team Member

https://www.biography.com/scientists/florence-nightingale

Florence Nightingale’s shining moments were during the Crimean war in 1854 when the number of sick soldiers and patients in hospitals flew to overwhelming amounts. Initially, the doctors refused to work alongside female nurses, claiming they would be of no use, but after conditions worsened for the entirety of the English medical system, they complied. Nightingale trained a team of 38 nurses with proper sanitary techniques, use of medical supplies, and nutritional support, and successfully managed to bring the death rate down from a high 40% to just 2% (Alexander, 2018). Nightingale was known for checking on her patients at night, yielding a lamp as she walked through the dark hospital, gaining her the nickname “the Lady with the Lamp”. Throughout all this, she also kept statistical analyses of hospital info, the rates at which patients were recovering, and even drafted the first ever pie chart, earning her the first female spot in the Royal Statistical Society when she returned to England. Until her death, Nightingale continued to work as a nurse, advocating for increased sanitation and proper healthcare practices that are still used today (Alexander, 2018). 

It is safe to say that Florence Nightingale was essential to the field of nursing, and contemporary medical practices would be nowhere near as effective as they are without her innovation, dedication, and desire to help the sick. 

References

Alexander, K. L. (2018). National Women’s History Museum. Biography: Florence Nightingale.  https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/florence-nightingale