International Nurses Day is being observed on Thursday, marked annually to celebrate the contributions of nurses. The day also commemorates the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, (perhaps) the most famous nurse across the world who is also known as the founder of modern nursing for her work on the improvement of the health sector.
The day holds all the more significance amid the pandemic when doctors and nurses have emerged as our heroes for their unparalleled – often hectic – work in safeguarding public health.
The ICN (International Council of Nurses) – which commemorates this important day each year – has themed this year’s celebration on – Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in Nursing and respect rights to secure global health.
Who was Florence Nightingale?
Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy. Apart from being known as the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer and statistician. Not only did she contribute immensely to the improvement of the health sector, she also penned over 150 books, pamphlets, and reports on health-related issues.
She is often referred to as the ‘Lady with the lamp’ and is remembered for taking care of wounded soldiers of the British army during the Crimean War, fought between 1853 and 1856.
In 1907, she was awarded the order of merit, becoming the first woman to ever receive this honour.
She opened a nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London in 1860, thus laying the foundation of professional nursing and giving the job a favourable reputation.
Having an aptitude for mathematics from an early age, she later became a pioneer in the visual representation of information such as pie charts — which at the time was a relatively new method of presenting data. Pie charts were first developed by William Playfair in 1801.
PM Modi thanks nurses
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday lauded the “dedication and compassion” of nurses and acknowledged their “vital role” in keeping the planet healthy. “Nurses play a vital role in keeping our planet healthy. Their dedication and compassion is exemplary. International Nurses Day is a day to reiterate our appreciation to all nursing staff for their exceptional work even in the most challenging of situations,” the prime minister said in a tweet.