Interpreting an icon

I had the privilege of working for nearly two decades at the Florence Nightingale Museum in St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. Contrary to many public perceptions of museums, the Nightingale Museum was a lively and, at times, hectic place, with a constant whirl of services to the visiting public and, behind the scenes, development of exhibition and education projects that involved historical research and planning. There were frequent discoveries of new material connected to Nightingale that required careful investigation and assessment before being communicated to the wider public. Only rarely was there time to sit down and actually read a book, and yet, like curators everywhere, my colleagues and I were required to know exactly what the significant books had to say on the subject. 

In my current work as a translator, I have the luxury of more time to read, think, and write, and I am very pleased to have the opportunity to write this Reflections on Nursing Leadership blog about Florence Nightingale, reflecting on the significance of her legacy today and the way in which her legacy is understood in different parts of the world.

With my background in museums and culture, I am interested in the global culture of nursing and the meaning of nursing icons for the modern world. It is clear to me that Nightingale has assumed quite different meanings at different times and places. It is probably needless to say that Nightingale had quite a different meaning in Meiji Japan compared to postapartheid South Africa. The reasons for these differences fascinate me, and I have continued to collect impressions and notes—from my time with the museum, from my work as a historical-tour leader and, latterly, as a translator living in Mexico.

Nightingale used to collect notes during the course of her work, from her direct experience or from the work and research of others, whose opinions she evaluated carefully. Some of her most important writings had “Notes” in the title, namely Notes on Hospitals, Notes on Nursing and Notes on Lying-In Institutions. These works, therefore, represented her accumulated thoughts on a particular topic and, in the case of Notes on Hospitals, the book went through a considerable period of refinement, being published in various editions. With this blog I aim to do something similar, to publish my own “Notes on Nightingale” on a wide variety of topics where I perceive that her views have particular relevance.

Last year, I authored a book, Illuminating Florence: Finding Nightingale's Legacy in Your Practice, in which I link quotes by Nightingale to nursing management, leadership, and theory. In that book, published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, I also highlight the relevance of Nightingale’s vision and legacy to modern-day nurses. I have always taken a practical and nondoctrinaire approach to Nightingale’s relevance today. Modern nurses across the world do continue to take inspiration from her life’s work, her writings, and philosophy, and this should be the true measure of her iconic status, rather than using the image of Florence Nightingale somewhat in the manner of a plaster saint.

From my knowledge of the archives and my understanding of Nightingale’s legacy, nurses today are only now on the verge of a much deeper appreciation of her relevance. I look forward to playing my part in increasing awareness of Nightingale and helping to inspire nurses in their excellent and valuable work of caring for patients and improving the health of the people of the world.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.