For over thirty years, the Emergency Nurses Association has recognized the second Wednesday in October as Emergency Nurses Day. In 2001, the association expanded the celebration to a full week to shine a bigger light on emergency nurses, their commitment to the health industry, and to recognize those who started this profession.
It all really started with one woman, Florence Nightingale. Born in Italy in 1820, Florence was homeschooled by her father and expected to get married at a young age. That wasn’t the case for Florence though, because when she was a teenager, Florence said she received a sign from God that she was to help the sick and poor. Nursing wasn’t a respected profession during that time and while her parents didn’t approve, Florence’s father eventually broke down and let her travel to Germany to study medicine.
By 33, Florence had made a name for herself, becoming the superintendent and manager of a hospital for women in London. During that time, the Crimean War began, and the British were unprepared to deal with the number of injured soldiers. A lack of medical supplies, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions caused a call for action. The Secretary of War asked Florence to step in and help the cause, but she was unwelcome. The doctors didn’t want to work with female nurses, but with the number of patients increasing, the need for extra hands reached a level of desperation.
Florence and her nurses not only brought necessary supplies, food, cleanliness, and sanitation to the military hospital, but provided individual care and support, much of what we see today in emergency nursing. This is where Florence got her nickname, “the Lady with the Lamp”, because she would carry a lamp around at night and check on the soldiers.
Within six months, the death rate decreased from 40% to 2%, all thanks to Florence and her nurses. After the war, Florence continued to improve conditions of hospitals, and the protocols that they would use to ensure safety. Until her death in 1910, she was still writing and advocating safe nursing from her bedside.
While Florence is most known for making hospitals cleaner and safer, she also wrote over 150 books, pamphlets, and reports on health-related issues. This included highlighting factors that could help with emergency medicine, which officially began in 1979. Thanks to Florence, nursing became a respected profession that deserves more recognition daily for the hard work that emergency nurses do. To Florence and all the emergency nurses, we say thank you!