-
 British
nursing pioneer
- The daughter of wealthy and cultured
parents who expected her to marry into fashionable society, Florence
Nightingale was determined to be a nurse at a time when nursing was
viewed as a disreputable occupation. She went on to make it a cherished
and respected profession.
Defying her family and prejudice against rich working women, Florence
sailed for the Crimea in 1854, where thousands of soldiers from Britain's
war with Russia were dying in hospitals that were in a filthy condition.
In less than six months, Florence had become a legend. Her tireless
labor reduced death rates from 42 percent to 2.2 percent.
Returning to Britain in 1856, she wrote a treatise advocating sweeping
reforms of the army's medical administration - most were implemented.
Her outrage that nursing was considered unsuitable for ladies and
fit only for low-grade domestics prompted her to open Britain's first
training school for nurses at London's St.Thomas's Hospital. A national
heroine, Florence was the first woman to be honored with the rarely
awarded Order of Merit.
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