“I have had a larger responsibility of human lives than ever man or woman had before. And I attribute my success to this — I never gave or took an excuse.”
Florence Nightingale, Letter to Miss H. Bonham Carter, 1861
International Nurses' Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.
This British nurse, statistician, and social reformer was the foundational philosopher of modern nursing. Nightingale was put in charge of nursing British and allied soldiers in Turkey during the Crimean War. She spent many hours in the wards, and her night rounds giving personal care to the wounded established her image as the “Lady with the Lamp.” Her efforts to formalize nursing education led her to establish the first scientifically based nursing school—the Nightingale School of Nursing, at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London (opened 1860).
She was the first woman awarded the Order of Merit (1907). International Nurses Day, observed annually on May 12, commemorates her birth, and celebrates the important role of nurses in health care.
The management of the Faculty of Health Sciences wishes all nurses all the best on the occasion of International Nurses' Day.
