Who is known as the founder of nursing profession?

Florence Nightingale (May 12, 1820 – August 13, 1910) is known as the founder of modern nursing. She was an English nurse, social reformer, and statistician who is credited with revolutionizing the field of nursing during the Crimean War. Nightingale was the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit, the highest honor that the British monarch could bestow.

Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, to wealthy English parents. She was educated at home and showed an early interest in mathematics and science. In 1850, she traveled to Germany to learn about the Lutheran deaconess movement, which provided nursing care to the sick and poor. Nightingale was inspired by the deaconesses and decided to become a nurse herself.

In 1854, Nightingale traveled to the Crimean Peninsula to care for British soldiers who were wounded in the Crimean War. She found the conditions in the hospitals to be appalling, with many soldiers dying from preventable infections. Nightingale implemented a number of reforms that dramatically improved the health and survival rates of the soldiers. She also trained a corps of nurses who helped her to care for the wounded.

After the war, Nightingale returned to England and continued to work to improve nursing education and practice. She published several books and articles about nursing, and she helped to found the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas's Hospital in London. Nightingale also worked to improve sanitation and public health in England, and she is credited with helping to reduce the incidence of cholera and other infectious diseases.

Nightingale's work had a profound impact on the field of nursing. She is considered to be the founder of modern nursing, and her principles and practices continue to be used by nurses today.