Florence Nightingale: The Lady with the Lamp

875 Words2 Pages

“I attribute my success to this-I never gave or took any excuse.” These words spoken by Florence Nightingale showed that she was hard working and determined to make a difference in the field that she felt was her calling. Florence Nightingale was a nurse who spent her night roundscaring for the wounded, establishing her image as “Lady with the Lamp.” “The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm” – Florence Nightingale. She was a heroic woman because she was a fantastic female nurse, cured the ill and was a great team leader (Florence Bio).
Florence Nightingale was born on May 12th 1820 into a very wealthy family. As she grew up, she recognized that she had a calling to help the sick and poor and decided she wanted to become a nurse. Her parents were not happy with her decision. Being a nurse was not respectable, nor thought of as a proper profession. Therefore, they did not want this for their daughter. Eventually, her father gave his permission for her to go to Germany where …show more content…

By the time she was only 38 years old, she was homebound and bedridden for the remainder of her life. Determined and dedicated as ever to improve health care and reduce patients suffering, she continued her work from her bed (Florence Bio).
Florence Nightingale cured the ill. She spent every walking minute caring for the injured soldiers. In the evenings, she moved through the dark hallways carrying a lamp while making her rounds, tending to patient after patient. The soldiers who were not only moved but comforted by her endless supply of compassion, gave her the nickname “the Lady with the Lamp”. Others called her “the Angel of Crimea”. Her hard work reduced the hospitals death rate by two-tirds. Nothing could have prepared Nightingale and her nurses for what they saw when they arrived at the British base hospital in Constantinople (Florence

Open Document