International nursing institutions and schools had originally planned a variety of celebrations to commemorate Nightingale’s 200th birthday but social distancing and other COVID-19 challenges resulted in the cancellation or postponement of events. For that and for so many other reasons, we celebrate her on her 200th birthday. My career and your careers would be different without her. Nursing-and the world-would be different without her. They are essential in dealing with today’s COVID-19 pandemic.įlorence Nightingale was a pioneer in many areas and she transformed nursing into a science-based, respected profession. The elderly, people of color and those with pre-existing conditions are at greater risk.įlorence Nightingale lived to be 90 and she saw many of her practices adopted in health care. We have seen, unfortunately, that social determinants play a role in the current pandemic. She used data to understand how physical and social conditions impact health, and consistently called for better care for the poor. She considered social determinants of health long before the term was coined. The CDC, experts, and media regularly use diagrams, pie charts, and graphs to communicate about COVID-19.įlorence was a social reformer. She created charts and diagrams to convey facts in her reports. In 1858, she became the first woman inducted into the Royal Statistical Society.įlorence used infographics before it was a word. She believed that good data was essential to decision-making and understanding. That spotlights another area where Florence Nightingale was a pioneer: epidemiology. She used those finding to demand hospitals improve protection of staff. Later in her career, she used statistics to demonstrate nurses had higher exposure to fever and cholera than civilians. Florence knew the danger nurses face from disease. People caring for persons with COVID are at high risk. One challenge in preventing COVID-19 infection has been finding sufficient personal protective equipment for nurses and other health care workers. Those are still the methods employed to prevent transmission of COVID-19. She insisted on frequent hand washing, sterile surfaces, infection control, and fresh air. She promoted hygiene as a weapon to fight infection. Soldiers were dying of disease, not their wounds. ![]() When Florence Nightingale arrived in the Crimea, she found horribly unsanitary conditions in the hospital wards. They are also the main defenses against COVID-19 infection. The principles Florence Nightingale pioneered, first in the Crimean War, then in hospitals in England, form the bedrock of modern nursing. I didn’t want the occasion to pass, however, without reflecting on her legacy, and sharing how her work is even now a key weapon in our fight against COVID-19. That means we are unable to be together this year to celebrate Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday. ![]() Self-isolation and social distancing are now routine. In-person events have been cancelled to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. ![]() Schools, including Vanderbilt, moved all courses online. The world is now in a long, unprecedented life-and-death crisis. Many of these special celebrations were scheduled for May 12th, Florence’s birthday. Nursing organizations and schools planned commemorative events to recognize her as the founder of modern nursing. It was set to correspond with the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. The world health organization designated 2020 as the “International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife” to recognize nurses and midwives, and the vital health care they provide worldwide. Norman, the Valere Potter Menefee Professor of Nursing, outlined Nightingale’s relevance in a video for VUSN students commemorating May 12, 2020, the 200th anniversary of Nightingale’s birth.Ģ020 has been a monumental year for nurses-and not quite how we’d planned it. Practices developed by Florence Nightingale are still relevant today, and in fact, are major weapons in the fight against COVID-19, says Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Dean Linda D. Vanderbilt Nurse-Midwifery Faculty Practice.Center for Research Development and Scholarship (CRDS).VUSN Faculty/Staff Intranet (Sharepoint).
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