Taking inspiration from Florence Nightingale
Did you know that Florence Nightingale invented pie charts? She had a natural interest in analysing data and she was the first woman Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. Nightingale used statistics to inform her medical work in a way which had never been done before and that is why she was quickly able to work out that soldiers were dying not from injuries sustained on the battlefield but through illness caused by poor sanitation and care.
The fact that Florence Nightingale was anywhere near the battlefields of the Crimea is remarkable in itself. Hitherto, nursing had not been a female profession especially for a woman born into a wealthy family who was expected to marry, rear children and continue the life of privilege for the next generation. Nightingale’s story is one of courage and is an excellent example of the oppression that educated women in Britain at this time had to overcome if they wanted to use their intellect and talent to contribute to life. Nightingale was not prepared to be confined to petty, boring duties within the family and she had to endure criticism from friends and family to train as a nurse and put herself in pioneering and difficult situations.
Courage defined Florence Nightingale and without her perhaps we wouldn’t know nursing and hospital design as it is today. With mental health rightly taking centre stage in modern society, it is fascinating to think that Nightingale was addressing this over 150 years ago by reading to the soldiers, helping them write letters and generally making them feel better. Year 2 have just begun their studies on Nightingale and I hope they all can be inspired by this amazing lady.