Notes on Nursing: What it is, and what it is not

“My heart always sinks within me when I hear the good housewife, of every class, say ‘I assure you the bed is well slept in’: and I can only hope it is not true. What? Is the bed already saturated with somebody else’s damp before my patient comes to exhale in it his own damp? Has it not had a single chance to be aired? No, not one.  It has been slept in every night.”

From the best know work of Florence Nightingale, the originator and founder of modern nursing, comes a collection of notes that played an important part of the much needed revolution in the field of nursing. For the first time it was brought to the attention of those caring for the sick that their responsibilities covered not only the administration of medicines and the application of poultices, but the proper use of fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, quiet and the proper selection and administration of diet. Miss Nightingale is outspoken on these subjects as well as on other factors that she considers essential to good nursing. But, whatever her topic, her main concern and attention is always on the patient and his needs.

All shop sales support the Florence Nightingale Museum, a registered charity, and its work.