Nursing, 1854 – Florence Nightingale and the Birth of Modern Nursing

As the prominent American nurse Virginia Henderson explained, a nurse’s role is to support a person in sickness or health. This includes carrying out activities that the patient, in bed or recovering, would perform independently if they had sufficient strength, willingness or knowledge.

The concept of nursing arose centuries ago, beginning with Catholic monks caring for the sick during Europe’s Dark Ages. A few names, however, stand out as symbols of the modern profession. English nurse and writer Florence Nightingale became known for her nursing during the Crimean War. 

In 1854, Florence Nightingale travelled with 38 volunteer women nurses to Türkiye to care for wounded British soldiers suffering in terrible conditions. Recognising that poor hygiene caused many deaths, she campaigned for stricter hygiene standards. In 1860, she laid the foundations of professional nursing by leading the establishment of a nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was sent with a group of nurses to the Barrack Hospital in Üsküdar, marking the beginning of her service in Türkiye.

At the Barrack Hospital, Nightingale and her team radically changed hygiene and care standards to improve patients’ conditions. They particularly emphasised cleanliness, adequate nutrition and better general care. These changes substantially reduced hospital mortality.

Nightingale also used statistical techniques to record hospital conditions and patient care practices. This laid a foundation for modern medical statistics and data-driven medical practice. The statistics demonstrated the effect of her efforts to improve health conditions, increasing support for health reform.

The impact of Nightingale’s service in Türkiye continued beyond wartime. Even after she returned to England, her experiences and observations helped bring important reforms in medical care and nursing education, leading to recognition of nursing as a modern profession.

Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole was another important figure who cared for soldiers suffering in Crimea. Travelling to England with letters of recommendation from Jamaican doctors, she applied to the British War Office to assist the army in Crimea. She was repeatedly rejected because of prejudice against women of mixed race. Seacole then financed her approximately 5 km journey herself and built a hotel for the wounded in Crimea. 

Nurses work in various settings and may specialise in mental health, paediatric nursing, geriatric nursing and oncology nursing. Other figures in American nursing include:

• Clara Barton – founder of the American Red Cross; 
• Margaret Sanger – birth control activist; 
• Helen Fairchild – served with the American Expeditionary Force in the First World War; 
• Clara Maass – died as a result of volunteering in yellow fever studies

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Article image caption: A photograph of JFlorence Nightingale (centre) with a graduating class of St Thomas’ nurses outside Claydon House, Buckinghamshire, in 1886.

Historical figures mentioned: Mary Jane Seacole (1805–1881), Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), Clarissa Harlowe “Clara” Barton (1821–1912), Clara Louise Maass (1876–1901), Margaret Higgins Sanger Slee (1879–1966), Helen Fairchild (1885–1918), Virginia Henderson (1897–1996)

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