If you are looking to pursue a nursing career it is important that you be familiar with some of the most influential nurses in history. Understanding where these nurses came from and what they did will help you appreciate and fulfill your duties as a nurse.
The most famous nurse in history is Florence Nightingale. She was born in 1820 and passed away in 1920. Florence was born to a very affluent family in Britain and her mother was distressed when she gave up her status to become a nurse.
This woman was very attracted to helping the poor and she felt that she had been given specific capabilities and desires to fulfill a call from God to be a nurse. She traveled to many countries to help the poor and she is most famous for trying to reform the British military health system.
Milnes, the poet, asked Florence to marry him and she refused because she was so dedicated to her career. Not only did this woman contribute greatly to nursing, she also contributed to mathematics.
Walt Whitman is often times credited for his poetry and the majority of people do not recognize or even realize that he was also a volunteer nurse at Army hospitals during the Civil War.
"The Great Army of the Sick" was inspired by the experiences that Whitman had as he was volunteering as a nurse. Whitman was born in 1819 and lived until 1892.
During the Civil war the wife of Abraham Lincoln became a great nurse in the field. She was an educated woman from Lexington Kentucky and she helped many young soldier's in the infirmary to feel happy.
Clara Barton was born in 1818 and passed away in 1882. From a young age Clara Barton had known that she wanted to be a nurse.
When she was only 11 years old she cared for her brother after he fell from a barn. Barton is most commonly known to be the founder of the Red Cross.
Barton started the Red Cross as she began to carry supplies to the soldiers in the battle field.
Barton was going against the grain in society as she had not received any authorization to be on the battlefield during the Civil War.
Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first registered African-American professional nurse. She was known for working tirelessly to give her patients the best care.
She was a co-founder of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, giving hope to many African-American women that wanted to pursue a career in nursing. This association eventually became the American Nurses Association.
Mary Seacole was another nurse that offered relief to fallen and hurt soldiers. She was born in Jamaica and witnessed the Crimean War.
Seacole's mother taught her the traditional herbal medicines and remedies. She ended up spending her own money to get to Crimea where she would help the wounded soldiers.
Mary Breckinridge was a foremother in family care centers. She took a whole different look on health care and worked hard to provide it for the rural areas of America.
She started her family health care centers in the Appalachians. Breckinridge had received training in Britain to be a midwife.
Florence Guinness Blake was a nurse that had a large impact on the education that nurses receive. From a young age Blake was encouraged to be a nurse and she took advantage of the opportunities that she was presented with.
Blake received a Master of Science degree and became a teacher in a nursing program. Blake's specialty was pediatric nursing and she pioneered the advancement of the graduate level nursing programs for nurses that were interested in working with children.
Edith Cavell was a strong woman with very specific goals. She knew that she wanted to be a nurse and that she was going to do everything she could to help those that were suffering around her.
Cavell became known worldwide as the nurse that helped soldiers on either side of the battle in WWI. She ended up being executed because she helped allied soldiers escape Belgium and her execution was followed by outrage of citizens all around the world.
Nursing is a great career that has been pioneered by some amazing women. This field of study is renowned and respected.
If you are looking to go into nursing it is important to find the right nursing school for you. A school that has similar morals and understandings of the field will provide you with the opportunity to add your name to the list of influential nurses.
Author Resource:-
Jack R. Landry has worked as a nurse practitioner for the last 16 years. He is an advocate for higher education and graduated from a Utah nursing school.
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