50 things to know about nurses in the US
From Becker’s Hospital Review, May 8, 2015
Nurses make up a vital part of the healthcare industry, providing care to patients and filling leadership roles at hospitals, health systems and other organizations. In honor of National Nurses Week, here are 50 statistics, facts and figures regarding these important caregivers.
History of Nursing
1. Florence Nightingale, born in 1820, is known as the founder of modern nursing
2. The first school in United States run according to Florence Nightingale’s nursing principles was the Training School for Nurses attached to Bellevue Hospital in New York City, which opened in 1873
3. Clara Barton, a nurse who earned the nickname “angel in the battlefield” during the Civil War, went on to create the American Red Cross in 1881
4. Famed American poet Walt Whitman served as a volunteer nurse for several years during the Civil War
5. In 1879, Mary Mahoney became the first African-American woman to complete nursing training and become a registered nurse. She went on to co-found the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses in 1908
6. Today, there are more than 3.9 million professionally active RNs and licensed practical nurses in the United States.