Initially the doctors did not want their help but within ten days fresh casualties arrived from the Battle of Inkermann and the nurses were fully stretched.įlorence also wrote home on behalf of the soldiers and acted as banker – sending the men’s wages home to their families. Florence recruited to oversee the introduction of female nurses into the military hospitals in Turkey.įlorence arrives in Scutari – a suburb on the Asian side of Constantinople – with 38 nurses. British medical facilities for the wounded are criticised by The Times. Apart from the basic sanitary precautions, she also improved the quality of their stay in the hospital.īritain, France and Turkey declare war on Russia. Nightingale quickly got to work and tried to lower the death rate. The medicine supply was little and the death rate was on an all time high. When they reached Scutari, the soldiers were in a horrible state due to the lack of proper sanitation and unhygienic surroundings. The condition of the soldiers there was much worse than expected. She assembled a team of more than 30 nurses and sailed to Crimea immediately. Nightingale received a letter from Secretary of War, Sidney Herbett - both eventually became very good friends - requesting assistance from her nurses to tend to the soldiers. A large number of British soldiers were sent to the front and by 1854 around 18000 soldiers were injured and admitted into military hospitals. In 1853, she was appointed Superintendent of the Hospital for Invalid Gentlewoman.īecomes Superintendent of the Institution for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen in Distressed Circumstances When she returned home she started visiting hospitals in London, Edinburgh and Dublin. On her trips to Egypt and Paris, she realized that disciplined and well- organised nuns or sisters made better nurses than women in England. She then worked hard to educate herself in the art and science of nursing. She enrolled herself as a student at the Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserwerth, Germany. Returns to Kaiserwerth and joins in active nursing dutiesįlorence returns to Kaiserswerth for three months nursing training which then enabled her to take up post as Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen during illnesses at number one Harley Street in 1853. Visits Kaiserwerth Institution in Germany Visits hospitals in Italy and observes Catholic sisters fulfilling nursing duties Seeks training at Salisbury Infirmary parents objectįlorence returns from her trip to Italy, Egypt, Greece and Germany where she visited Pastor Theodore Fliedner’s hospital and school for deaconesses at Kaiserswerth near Dusseldorf. After much opposition, Florence announced her decision to enter the field in 1844. Pursuing a career in nursing was looked down upon by the society at that time, especially for someone with an affluent background. Whilst in the gardens of her family home in Embley, Hampshire, Florence heard the voice of God calling her to do his work, but at this time had no idea what the work would be. She believed without doubt that this was her divine calling. By the time she reached 16, Florence, who always had a very keen interest in philanthropy and caring for the sick, knew her calling was nursing. Florence was raised at Lea Hurst where she received classical education which included German, Italian and French. Florence was born into a rich, well-connected British family. The competencies and attributes that the nurse-midwives possessed at this hospital offered the women with an element of ownership regarding their laboring processes.She was born in Italy to William Edward Nightingale and Frances “Fanny” Nightingale. The findings revealed that not only were the environment serene and devoid of noise but the nurse-midwives were friendly and supportive for the women and were competent in diagnosing the progression of labor. Emerging themes from the data were: the importance of environmental serenity in childbirth, the need to confirm true labor, being in control during labor, the importance of midwives, and childbirth as a sacred and euphoric journey. Data was collected by using semi-structured individual interviews.

Using a generic or non-categorical qualitative research design women who delivered at the 37th Military Hospital were interviewed. The purpose of the study was to explore the expectations of women relating to their labor and delivery needs at the 37th Military Hospital, in Ghana.

Established a war hospital