However, she did have several important and long-lasting friendships with women. Later in life, she kept up a prolonged correspondence with Irish nun Sister Mary Clare Moore, with whom she had worked in Crimea. [64] Her most beloved confidante was Mary Clarke, an Englishwoman she met in Paris in 1837 and kept in touch with throughout her life. [65] When Nightingale approached her parents and told them about her ambitions to become a nurse, they were not pleased. In fact, her parents forbade her to pursue nursing. During the Victorian Era, a young lady of Nightingale’s social stature was expected to marry a man of means—not take up a job that was viewed as lowly menial labor by the upper social classes. Nightingale decided to use the money to further her cause. In 1860, she funded the establishment of St. Thomas’ Hospital, and within it, the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. Nightingale became a figure of public admiration. Poems, songs and plays were written and dedicated in the heroine’s honor. Young women aspired to be like her. Eager to follow her example, even women from the wealthy upper classes started enrolling at the training school. Thanks to Nightingale, nursing was no longer frowned upon by the upper classes; it had, in fact, come to be viewed as an honorable vocation. This lesson is intended for use in Key Stage 1 & 2 as part of an enquiry into Florence Nightingale. It is suggested that the more complex text sources are read by pupils and their teacher/helper together. You could also ask pupils to underline key words/phrases in the transcripts to help make sense of these sources. A simplified transcript is also supplied for Source 2 to be used as necessary. Pupils can work in pairs on the visual sources.

Take your investigation wider and compare the role of Florence Nightingale to Mary Seacole, her contemporary. Why did you want to become a nurse? People with mental health illnesses often suffer in silence because their suffering is not always clear for everyone to see. Whilst we know that medical interventions can help treat most symptoms of mental health illnesses, sitting down and being with someone can be just as powerful; educating them, empowering them and not judging them. I love being there for people who need that someone, so why not do it as my job? Hands down the best job in the world!The program supports people living at home, in residential aged care and community settings. How we help

Source 6a – Front cover of a file about a statue for Florence Nightingale, Catalogue ref: WORK 20/67

Activity 2 – Florence Nightingale quiz

What inspires you? Seeing our patients walk out the door in a much better place than when they entered it. It is a small reminder of the positive work we do within our hospital and how we can actually change the lives of the people that come to us. To positively affect an individual’s life is quite a privilege and one that we can be very proud of and inspired by. In August 1910, Florence Nightingale fell ill but seemed to recover and was reportedly in good spirits. A week later, on the evening of Friday, August 12, 1910, she developed an array of troubling symptoms. She died unexpectedly at 2 p.m. the following day, Saturday, August 13, 1910, at her home in London.

Recorded to wax cylinder on 30 July 1890, to raise money for veterans of the Charge of the Light Brigade. [2] [3]

Medicine in the 1800s

Source 1 – ‘One of the wards of the hospital at Scutari’, an illustration published 21 April 1856 by Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Co – Wellcome Library, London Although they had been warned of the horrid conditions there, nothing could have prepared Nightingale and her nurses for what they saw when they arrived at Scutari, the British base hospital in Constantinople. The hospital sat on top of a large cesspool, which contaminated the water and the hospital building itself. Patients lay on in their own excrement on stretchers strewn throughout the hallways. Rodents and bugs scurried past them. The most basic supplies, such as bandages and soap, grew increasingly scarce as the number of ill and wounded steadily increased. Even water needed to be rationed. More soldiers were dying from infectious diseases like typhoid and cholera than from injuries incurred in battle. Every year, on 12 May, we mark International Nurses Day. It’s not just a celebration of nursing, it’s also the birthday of one of the world’s most famous nurses, Florence Nightingale. We knew 2020, two centuries since her birth, would be a big occasion. But with the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting similarities between Nightingale’s experiences and those of nursing staff today, it’s taken on new significance. Why did you want to become a nurse? I’ve been accused of being a compulsive helper in the past so I think my personality leaned a lot towards me making the decision to become a nurse. I also grew up around some family members and friends of the family who experienced mental health difficulties which gave me a lasting curiosity to better understand and empathise with their experiences. I genuinely believe, that giving of oneself to others is one of the most rewarding experiences; being able to give as part of my work is a bonus!!!