Florence Nightingale Had a Very

Florence Nightingale had a very important role in founding the nursing profession. She is seen as an example in this field and her work produced a great change in the field of nursing. Florence Nightingale's work is even more appreciated because of the time and the society she was living in.

Born in 1820, Nightingale became a nurse at the age of 31, after a long period of fighting against the will of her parents, who believed that such a profession is indemnifying for a woman of her social status (Read, 1986). This was one of the first prejudices that Florence Nightingale had to face in the pursuit of her dream in nursing. It was considered at that time that only working-class women choose such a profession and that a woman from a rich family like her is not required to work, especially as a nurse. Such preconceptions were typical for the time of Florence Nightingale, but she managed to break those boundaries and more than that, she managed to bring a notable contribution in the field of nursing.

Her most important contribution was made during the Crimean War. After the involvement of Britain in the Crimean War as an aid to Turkey, a great number of British soldiers were dying because of cholera, malaria, typhus, and a small number because of war injury. Florence Nightingale managed to gain permission to go to Turkey as a volunteer together with a group of 38 women that she trained. At the time of her arrival, she discovered that the conditions provided for the soldiers in the army hospital were disastrous. She decided that there was a need for reform in these military hospitals, but she confronted serious objections from the behalf of the military staff. The society, and especially such a conservative part of the society as the army, was not ready to pay any respect to a woman's opinion. This was the main obstacle for women at that time - they were not taken serious and they were refused any right in decision-making processes outside the area of their household.

But Florence Nightingale was not intimidated by the attitude of the military officers and she decided to fight with all weapons: she contacted the Times and reported the situation in army hospitals, thus forcing the British Army to reorganize their hospitals. Her contribution to the military hospitals paid off when, by improving the quality of sanitation, the number of dead patients was reduced considerably.