Medal of Honour
When nations, communities and most especially people are under threat, Nurses invariably are among the first to answer the call and come to the fore. Literally it is a profession born out of conflict and putting the wellbeing of the most vulnerable unquestionably first.
Humans have always needed the help and healing powers from special people with special skills. It was not until the 19th Century, however, that the profession of nursing shone through thanks to the passion, commitment and leadership of one Florence Nightingale.
In 1854, under the authorization of Sidney Herbert, the British Secretary of War, Florence Nightingale brought a team of 38 volunteer nurses to care for the British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War. Like many conflicts it involved several countries focussed on trying to limit the threat of Russian expansion into Europe. Nightingale and her charges arrived at the military Barrack Hospital in Scutari, Turkey. Rather than being a place of peace and recovery it was a hell hole of epic proportions. The battle wounds themselves were horrific but the lack of sanitation was an even greater enemy. Ten times more soldiers were dying of diseases such as typhus, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery than from the conflict.
Rather than playing everything ‘by the book’ her accomplishments during the disastrous years the British army experienced in the Crimea were largely the result of her concern with sanitation and its relation to mortality. Her ability to lead, organise and get things done saved lives as well as creating waves.
She fought with those military officers that she considered incompetent; they, in turn, considered her unfeminine and a nuisance. She worked endlessly to care for the soldiers themselves, making her rounds during the night after the medical officers had retired. She thus gained the name of “the Lady with the Lamp,” and set the standards of excellence that are part of the nursing profession.