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Revisiting Florence Nightingale: International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020

This year sees the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale and has been designated the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses in support of the Burdett Trust’s Nursing Now campaign which culminates at the end of 2020. The campaign aims to increase the profile and influence of nurses globally, emphasising the central role they have in helping to deliver the sustainable development goal of universal health coverage globally. Florence Nightingale was born in 1820, and during her 90-year lifetime, she made an outstanding contribution to nursing, public health and the design and management of hospitals. In two articles about Florence Nightingale, Bill Newsom suggested that three of her books, Notes on Hospitals (1859 and 1863), Notes on Nursing (1860) and Introductory Notes on Lying-in Institutions (1871), had an enduring influence on infection control (Newsom, 2003a, 2003b). More recently, the popular romantic perspective of Florence Nightingale as the “lady with the lamp” has come under critical scrutiny. She was by all accounts a difficult person to get along with, and her privileged upbringing lead to difficult relationships with medical staff and other nursing contingents in the Crimea (Small, 2017; Williams, 2008). However, it is apparent from the many biographies that chart her life that Florence Nightingale possessed qualities and skills that remain highly relevant to nursing roles globally. Her observation and organisation skills; a commitment to the fundamental requirements of those with health needs; a recognition of the power of collecting, analysing and using data to illustrate the need for change; and her ability to engage politicians, scientific collaborators and the media to influence opinion and change are all qualities that are critical to infection prevention and control practitioners of today.