Most Prominent Nurses Throughout History

Most Prominent Nurses Throughout History

Nurses have played significant roles in people's health for more than a century. Whether people need to visit an emergency room or a local medical center, the first person they encounter is often a nurse. From time to time over the years, there have been nurses who made valuable contributions to the world of healthcare. We are giving honorable mention to some of the most prominent nurses throughout history below.

1. Florence Nightingale - Most everyone has heard the name "Florence Nightingale," and likewise, they associate her with being a famous nurse in history. However, few people realize just what made her such a prominent figure in the nursing profession. Nightingale began her nursing career in the 19th century during the Crimean War. Taking note of the unsanitary conditions commonly found in the military's medical facilities, she realized that changes needed to be made. As a result, Nightingale and a team of about 40 other nurses began improving the conditions of these facilities. In 1860, she established the Nightingale School of Nursing that stressed the importance of hygiene in patient care.
2. Dorthea Dix - Dix began her career as a teacher in New England. Later, during the Civil War, she served as the superintendent of nurses for the Union Army. She and her team of nurses provided care to Confederate soldiers as well. During her nursing career, Dix noticed the inhumane way that mentally ill patients were treated. Because of this, she helped organize the North Carolina Medical Society with the goal of improving the treatment of mental patients in the state. She is also accredited for founding 32 mental institutions and creating the first humane and effective mental health system in the country.
3. Clarissa Barton - Clarissa Barton was another prominent nurse who began her career as a teacher during the 19th century. Just like Dix, Barton went on to serve as a nurse in the Civil War. During the early part of the war, Barton's job was to ensure that the military's medical facilities had the supplies they needed. After some time, she went on to provide her nursing services to injured Union soldiers on the battlefield. Nevertheless, what Barton is most known for is creating and organizing the first American Red Cross in 1873. She also served as the American Red Cross' president until about 1904.
4. Margaret Sanger - Margaret Sanger began her nursing career in New York City during the early 1900s. While working as a nurse, Sanger was horrified by the devastation that unwanted or difficult pregnancies could pose on women and their families. Due to her horrific experiences, she created the first birth control clinic in the U.S. during 1916. Three years later, she organized what was known as the American Birth Control League, which is now called the Planned Parenthood Foundation. Other valuable contributions made by Sanger include the formation of the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau and the development of the country's first oral contraceptive for women.
5. Mary Mahoney - Mary Mahoney is known most for becoming the first black woman to complete a nursing program and become a nurse. For some time during the early 1900s, she served as head nurse of the Howard Orphan Asylum in New York. She also helped found the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses in 1908, which is now a part of the American Nurses Association.