Wednesday, May 20, 2009

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AND INTERNATIONAL NURSING DAY


"The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm." -
-- Florence nightingale

"To understand God's thoughts we must study statistics, for these are the measure of His purpose" -
-- Florence nightingale

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. This day is celebrated to remember all of the valuable contributions nurses make to society.

The IND theme for 2009 is: Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Care Innovations.





Florence Nightingale, OM, RRC (pronounced /; 12 May 1820 13 August 1910), who came to be known as "The Lady with the Lamp", was a pioneering nurse, writer and noted statistician.

Born 12 May 1820(1820-05-12)
Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany Died 13 August 1910 (aged 90)
Park Lane, London, United Kingdom
Profession Nurse and Statistician Institutions Selimiye Barracks,
Scutari Specialism Hospital hygiene and sanitation Known for Pioneering modern nursing Notable prizes Royal Red Cross (1883)
Order of Merit (1907)
Florence Nightingale was born into a rich, upper-class, well-connected British family at the Villa Colombaia, Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and was named after the city of her birth. Florence's older sister Parthenope (pronounced ParTHENopee) had similarly been named after her place of birth, a Greek settlement now part of the city of Naples.

nspired by what she took as a Christian divine calling, experienced first in 1837 at Embley Park and later throughout her life, Florence announced her decision to enter nursing in 1845, despite the intense anger and distress of her family, particularly her mother.

She cared for people in poverty. In December 1844, she became the leading advocate for improved medical care in the infirmaries and immediately engaged the support of Charles Villiers, then president of the Poor Law Board. This led to her active role in the reform of the Poor Laws, extending far beyond the provision of medical care. She was later instrumental in mentoring and then sending Agnes Elizabeth Jones and other Nightingale Probationers to Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary.


Embley Park, now a school, was the family home of Florence Nightingale.


A ward of the hospital at Scutari where Nightingale worked, from an 1856 lithograph.



"Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari", a portrait by Jerry Barret.




The grave of Florence Nightingale in the churchyard of St. Margaret's Church, East Wellow.




A seven-inch ceramic statuette of Nightingale. Her hand rests on a column bearing a stack of books, to show her scholarly nature.




Florence Nightingale Stamp Exhibition at Congress
To illustrate the tremendous influence that Florence Nightingale has had throughout the world, FNIF is pleased to showcase a special exhibition of stamps at the ICN booth during the Congress in Durban in 27 June-4 July 2009. The collection which presents the story of Florence Nightingale and is the work of Marilyn Gendek, an Australian nurse and philatelist, who has kindly offered to share her collection with us.



London, UK, 12 May 2009... Sarah Brown (centre), wife of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, joined former ICN President Christine Hancock and Florence Nightingale Museum Director Caroline Worthington, to plant the Florence Nightingale Anniversary Rose on the occasion of International Nurses Day. Mrs Brown was also presented with the new Florence Nightingale Anniversary Rose for the rose garden at No 10 Downing Street. The rose was developed by Jackson Perkins for the Florence Nightingale International Foundation the premier foundation of the International Council of Nurses.

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