Florence Nightingale and History of Nursing

Author: david alen

The History of Nursing dates back to early stages when the mothers tended their children and new born infants for a better care and proper health. Nursing and medicine are, like the two sides a coin, which are closely related to each other. The mothers were the first nurses of the past, and later it developed as an art form and started being practiced all over the world. The evolution of nursing has been attributed to the early care of infants and children.

Before the development of modern nursing, nuns and the military provided nursing-like services. But, the development of modern nursing can be attributed to Florence Nightingale. She provided proper care and help to the injured soldiers during the Crimean war. During the war the soldiers were dying due to the poorly conditioned and hazardous environmental conditions in the military hospitals. She improved the environmental and management conditions of the hospitals and reduced the death toll from 40 percent to two percent within six months. Her hard work and dedication helped to lower the death toll during the war. Her proper care and affection towards the soldiers had set an example to all the nurses all over the world. This is what established Florence Nightingale as the ‘Mother of Modern Nursing'

After the work from Florence nightingale, the nursing profession was totally changed and people from all over the world started to take nursing as a respected and good profession. Other notable nurses in the Civil War were Clara Barton, author Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Tubman.

At present nurses are treated with a high degree of respect and trust. Nurses have been said to be focused mainly on curing rather than caring. And it has been proven from research that not only curing but caring is responsible for the proper recovery of the patient. The mental situation is improved by the nurses.

The development of modern nursing is has not come on a fortnight or a short period of time. A lot of hard work, dedication and revolutionizing have taken place in the field of nursing. Various acts and codes of ethics have been made for the improvement of the field of nursing. But, it has still a long way to go and a lot of work is still to be done. May be that's why nursing has been called the oldest of arts and the youngest of professions.

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