My Selection–Notes on Nursing

by Florence Nightingale

Image by author, Susan Foster

From the time I was a three-year-old, I had an interest in nursing. My mom is a nurse, and I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. Reading about Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) in a book I purchased from our fourth grade Scholastic Book Club pamphlet further cemented that desire.

I majored in Nursing in college, and it was then that I discovered and purchased Notes on Nursing: What it is and what it is not, by Florence Nightingale. Dover Publications, Inc. originally published my copy of this book in 1969. It is the unabridged republication of the first American edition, published by D. Appleton and Co. in 1860, with a new preface by Margaret B. Dolan (The University of North Carolina) and a foreword by Virginia M. Dunbar (New York Hospital, New York City.)

History came alive for me

As a student studying the basics of nursing, many of which were founded on the work and teaching of Florence Nightingale, it gave me shivers to realize I was reading words she had actually written. Reading her notes was almost like having a conversation with this historical figure I had admired for so long.

I marked my copy of this book with underlining and notes of my own. I’ve recently been wondering what Ms. Nightingale’s response would have been to…