Florence Nightingale Research Papers

Florence Nightingale: The Foundation of Modern Medicine

Medicine in the mid-1800s was unorganized and illogical, especially in Europe. The majority of citizens lived in poor or working class neighborhoods, and could not afford clean water or sewage facilities. Cities were congested with garbage and human waste. As the population boomed, people were living in cramped apartment buildings and group homes to conserve costs and resources. Disease was rampant throughout European cities. The combination of waste and close quarters led to devastating disease outbreaks (“On the State”). Doctors and scientists had not yet discovered how various viruses and diseases spread, and paid no attention to sanitation. It was rare for hospitals to be regularly
She completed the bulk of her work between 1850 and 1870 (World of Health). Nightingale changed medicine as it is today. She was the first effective force in sanitation and cleanliness, seeing bacterial contamination as the cause for illness and disease (“On the State”). She introduced the idea of caring for each patient, making them as comfortable as possible and checking on them multiple times a day. Nightingale changed how the entire world viewed disease, illness, and cleanliness. She especially reformed medicine within the military (Miké). She changed the entire profession of nursing, focusing more on sanitary practices and intense care for all patients (“Birth of Nursing”). Furthermore, Nightingale was a successful woman in a time when women’s views and rights were suppressed in England and around the world. She struggled with sexism throughout her life of ground-breaking work (“Learn to Pitch”). Florence Nightingale reformed modern medicine and nursing with her work during the Crimean War, her creative use of statistical data to improve health care, and her contribution to founding the British Red
Advanced medicine was a profession only known to men. Women were not considered to be smart or powerful enough to thrive in the medical world. They had almost no say in the workplace in general. Nightingale struggled with sexism her whole life. One of the most difficult things for her to do was establish the British Red Cross. Being a woman, it was virtually impossible for her to start her own organization. Her gender created a huge obstacle, so Nightingale was forced to find alternative ways to achieve her goal. She worked extremely closely with Henry Dunant, the future founder of the Red Cross. Working with Dunant was one of the only ways Nightingale’s views could be taken seriously among the general public, and the British government. Dunant came to Nightingale because he was inspired with her determination to give patients the best care, even in the worst of times. Nightingale explained her ideas and hopes to Henry Dunant, and together they formed the Red Cross in 1859. Many of the Red Cross’ principles are based off of Nightingale. Henry Dunant said the following about Nightingale and the Red Cross, “Though I am known as the founder of the Red Cross and the originator of the Convention of Geneva, it is to an English woman that all the honour of that convention is due. What inspired me to go to Italy during the war of 1859 was the work of Miss Florence Nightingale in the Crimea” (SOURCE). The Red Cross