12th May International Nurses Day Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910)

International Nurses Day is the perfect time to celebrate the contribution these health-workers make to the community. It is celebrated on this day to commemorate the birth of English nurse, Florence Nightingale in 1820. Florence, so named because she was born in Florence, was famous for her work during the Crimean War and the tuition of her fellow nurses. She epitomised commitment and devotion to her patients and quality care, something nurses still aspire to today. She became known as 'the lady with the lamp' because she even tended to her patients at night by lamp light.

Florence was an educated woman and she disliked the lack of opportunity for females in her social circle. She began to visit the poor and look after those who were ill and although this was not seen as a noble act she persevered and came to raise the reputation of nursing as a role for women. There are many non-fiction children's books about nurses and Florence Nightingale in particular. Two that fit the bill are Florence Nightingale by Lucy Lethbridge, one of the titles in the Usborne series 'Famous Lives' and We Need Nurses one of the numerous books in a series about community workers.