Nursing is a profession whereby they have a responsibility to care for patients, who are sick, disabled, or elderly. They visit patients in a hospital, care home or by visiting their homes. Nurses are responsible for administering medicines and vaccines, diagnosing patients, and dispensing prescriptions.
Nurses are the frontline of healthcare and are the most diverse and respected of all healthcare professionals. Demand for nurses is high and on the rise, due to the rising expectations of people seeking care. The demand for nurses has drastically risen through and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The nursing profession has been around for hundreds of years. But where did this role begin? Today, we want to share a timeline of where the nursing profession came from and how it has evolved over the years.
We begin our journey with the founder of nursing, Florence Nightingale.
The famous Florence Nightingale began her career as a nurse in the Crimean War, caring for wounded British soldiers. Nightingale and her 38 nurses cared for the soldiers, reducing the death toll and saving soldiers lives.
Florence Nightingale was known as the ‘Lady of the Lamp.” She returned from the war and opened the first-ever nursing school in London, where nurses can train in care procedures. This was the beginning of the healthcare industry in the UK.