2020 is designated the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife” by the World Health Organization in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth (1820-1910).

Some of Nightingale’s pioneering accomplishments still pertinent today:

• Maintaining a focus on the needs of the patient
• Stressing handwashing for infection control 
• Recognizing  the importance of environmental factors on healing and health including sanitation, ventilation, hygiene, proper nutrition, gardens, pet visits and sunlight 
•  Advocating for universal access to quality healthcare
• Establishing the first secular professional training school for nurses
• Planning hospitals to minimize cross-infection while also efficiently conserving nurses’ energy for patient care
• Championing good working conditions, adequate time off and career paths with increased responsibility and pay for trained nurses plus continuing education
• Conducting data analysis to evaluate practice changes on improved patient outcomes and conceiving a type of pie chart (also known as a coxcomb or rose chart or polar area diagram) as a graphical display
• Emphasizing the value of education for public health promotion
• Addressing suffering and dying with presence, spirituality and hope
• Mentoring nurses worldwide