Florence Nightingale

In a man's world, Florence was a man's name, mid 1800's that started to change. On May 12, 1820 a baby girl was born, her parents named her Florence Nightingale. Later on in her life she would be honored for the way we all perceive the man's name in the man's world. Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy to a wealthy well known British family. Her father was an heir to the Derbyshire estate, and her mother a merchant stock, dedicated herself to keeping up with what other women of high stature did.(EWB) With being in such a well connected family, she became a highly educated, determined, well rounded leader. Nightingale possessed traits of selflessness and bravery. She had faith and made change. She was willing to go through the horrors of war to help others, and put her patients and their health before her own. Florence Nightingale was more than just a nurse in the Crimean War; she was also a heroic figure for women's roles in society, a pioneer in the medical field, and a symbol of hope for the Victorian Era.

Nightingale inspired many women to fight for their roles in society and to fight to be accepted in the world. In her time, women were just wives and mothers, they hung around gossiping and throwing parties. If a women was working, they were most likely poor or degraded. But in her youth, Nightingale "became frustrated with the limited opportunities. she began to investigate possible occupations for women."(Anderson). Just because Nightingale was a respected woman didn't mean she had to just sit there and look pretty. She knew she had the power to make changes, so she got up and got her hands dirty. Nightingale turned down many offers of marriage to continue her research and fought to show that women could work too. Many years after the Crimean War, Nightingale created "The establishment of a professional nursing corps in Europe and the United States dramatically impacted ... society in general, improving standards of care and providing an avenue for women to enter the workforce"(SAIT). Nightingale poured her heart and soul into her projects and was rewarded with accomplishing her goals. As well as having determination and a selfless attitude, Nightingale was and still is a huge corner stone in bringing our society one step closer to the realization that this isn't just a man's world.

Nightingale gave up her lavish lifestyle to pour her time into advancing data and health in the medical field. Death was the enemy when Nightingale was in the Crimean War.  She put everyone first and did her best to help. After a year of being there " the death rate among the patients fell from over forty percent to less than two percent. To achieve such remarkable results, Nightingale used her mathematics training to perform statistical analyses of hospital conditions. She developed polar-area charts to plot the incidence of preventable deaths and created diagrams to illustrate the results of her improvements to unsanitary conditions" (Anderson). Florence Nightingale was an extremely smart woman. She could work under pressure and thrived under stressful conditions. Nightingale was selfless, she spent day and night working to improve, working to help, working to change. When people saw her accomplishments, it made others realize that nursing was a highly valuable job. "Through her efforts the stature of nursing was raised to a medical profession with high standards of education and important responsibilities" (Funk & Wagnalls). A nurse use to be a monastic women or someone who couldn't find another job. (Women's History) Then, Florence Nightingale came into the field and completely changed that perception. She showed everyone that the nurses needed to be educated and that they were a valuable necessity in the medical field. This change in perception is something that exists to this day. Nightingale has created a legacy that can not be tampered with and will never fade.

After the war, Nightingale and her team came back as the symbol of hope for the Victorian Era. She didn't physically fight in the war, yet "Nightingale returned to England in 1856 as a national heroine. She was unique among women in her ambition and her effectiveness in a professional setting. And her reforms had saved thousands of British lives. However, the only recognition she would accept for her achievements was a fund to create the Nightingale School and Home for Nurses" (Anderson). A well deserving title for a well deserving hero. No, she didn't fight against anyone, but she did fight for other's lives, against sexism and difference, and she fought for change. Because of an author named John Russell, Nightingale's accomplishments were amplified. "Thanks to the writing of John Russell, the first battlefield correspondent, who took advantage of the telegraph to send firsthand accounts back to England, she became the only hero of a particularly unfortunate war." (Women's History). The Crimean War between Turkey and Russia was truly an ugly battle. Many were injured and many more died. Some would say that no one truly won that war. Nightingale fought to get to where she was and not one is more deserving. Nightingale's efforts and involvement in that bloody war caused her to  become a light of hope in the dark despair.

Florence Nightingale made it socially acceptable for a woman of any class to work. She created a whole new world for the medical profession, went to war as a humble nurse, and came back an iconic symbol from the Victorian Era. Through her selfless actions and caring for the wounded and sick, she inspired her coworkers, patients, citizens reading the newspaper, and many other people between the 1820's to now. Nightingale has inspired me through her persistence and endless efforts to make change in this world. No obstacle was too large or too difficult for her, she kept her head straight and continued on.  In a man's world, Florence Nightingale, a girl with a man's name, truly changed the way we perceive the world, she is a true hero and I believe that she is more than worthy of that title.