She counseled key political figures and supported British colonialism, despite the deaths and destruction it caused.

Played a Political Role in Genocide Under British Rule These were institutions that employed the indigent for profitable work. She also influenced the training for midwives and nurses in workhouse infirmaries. In 1860, she used the money to establish the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Nightingale was awarded $250,000 from the British government after the Crimean War. Established the First Science-Based Nursing School To this day, bias and accessibility affect the quality of healthcare treatment within Black, Indigneous, and communities of color. Many of Nightingale's influences became the foundation upon which our current healthcare system is built. To decolonize nursing, it is essential to acknowledge both legacies that Nightingale has left - her contribution to the nursing profession and the impacts her prejudices against Indigenous people and people of color had. It has become known as the 'European style of nursing.' 10 Facts About Florence Nightingale's Influence on Modern Nursing In many countries, nurses have little independent practice and are considered only an extension of the doctor.

She continued the patterns of elitism and racism that have influenced nursing education. Nightingale's actions also led to the colonization of the nursing profession. It is unfortunate that her contribution to nursing has superseded those of other nurses, including Mary Seacole, Charlotte Edith Monture, and Mary Mahoney, who were trailblazing activists challenging racist and sexist norms of their era. Her political actions, taken at a time when she was revered as a heroine after the Crimean War, led to the genocide of Indigenous people. Her actions against the Indigenous people of New Zealand caused the New Zealand Nurses Organization (NZNO) to call her statements on colonization a 'dangerous legacy.' The NZNO explained how Nightingale's actions against the Indigenous people of New Zealand led them to cancel celebrations of her 200th birthday. The changes created by British rule only triggered a process of 'decay,' which the habits of Indigenous people had already set in motion. Later in her book, she comments that the deaths were in large part due to the Indigenous people. However, she had no issue with the deaths, writing, 'Every society which has been formed has had to sacrifice large proportions of its earlier generation to the new conditions of life arising out of the mere fact of change.' She believed the high death rate of the children was a reflection of the speed at which they were assimilated into British civilization. In her book 'Sanitary Statistics of Native Colonial Schools and Hospitals,' she considered the children inferior. This includes the care given to Indigenous children in the Canadian forerunner to residential schools. It is important to recognize both Nightingale's advances in healthcare and her racist attitude that affected many. A Closer Look At Nightingale's Role in Colonialism According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another. In the following years, her checkered impact on nursing has left an enduring colonial mark on the profession. Despite her parents' objections, she attended Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserwerth, Germany as a nursing student. At an early age, Nightingale showed an interest in helping the poor and ill people in the village. Yet, Nightingale's father made sure she received a classical education, including studies in Italian, French, and German. Most young women born in the early 1800s were not educated. But her history has been promoted through a white cultural lens that can perpetuate the colonization of nursing. She was instrumental in advancing nursing as a profession and healthcare in general. In the past decade, many of Nightingale's writings were digitized, making it easier to find references of her belief in the supremacy of white culture.

Her father was a wealthy white landowner and merchant, and her mother was reportedly a social climber who enjoyed engaging with prominent people. Her beliefs and actions were highly influenced by the elite social circles her family belonged to. Florence Nightingale was born roughly three centuries after the formative years of the British Empire, which began in the early 1500s.

Florence nightingale