Vol. 1 No. 1 (2022): infermieristica journal: nursing r-evolution
Articles

At the origin of modern nursing: Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) versus Ellen Gould White (1827-1915)

Francesco Baldanzi
Department of History, Archaeology, Geography, Art and Performance, University of Florence, Italy
Donatella Lippi
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Italy

Published 2022-06-29

Keywords

  • History of nursing,
  • Ellen Gould White,
  • Florence Nightingale,
  • spiritualism,
  • healthcare,
  • history of hygiene
  • ...More
    Less

Abstract

Aim of this short article is to put in light the connections between the similarities and differences between the theories of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) and those of Ellen Gould White (1827-1915): the first is known around the world because she is considered the founder of modern nursing.
Ellen Gould White, on the other hand, is especially familiar within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, of which she was a prominent member.
These two women never met or corresponded with one another, yet their writings about health have strong similarities.

References

  1. Abbott R D, A Comparison of the Health Beliefs of Florence Nightingale and Ellen G. White and the Incorporation of Them into Their Respective Schools of Nursing, Dissertations. 176, 2001. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/176
  2. Lippi D, Varotto E, Boccalini S, Bechini A, Galassi FM. In Search of a Lost Father: Adrien Proust (1834–1903), An Almost Forgotten Public Health Pioneer. Vaccines. 2022; 10(5): 644. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10050644
  3. Nightingale F, Notes on Hospitals. 3rd ed. Longmans, Roberts and Green, 1863.
  4. Nightingale F, Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not. 1th ed. Harrison and Sons, 1860.
  5. White E G, Health: Or How to Live. 1th ed. Steam Press; 1865.
  6. White E G, The Ministry of Healing. 1th ed. Steam Press, 1905.