Florence Nightingale and Opportunity
The Lady with the Lamp used her entitlement, hard work, 10,000 hours and meaningful work to become a success.
By Maggie B. Enright | Nursing Major
Florence Nightingale has become well known globally for her work as a nurse in Europe. Not only has she been recognized for her work in nursing, but she also made powerful imprints in statistics, its application to the humanities, sanitation regulations, military hospital regulations, patient care standards, and empowerment for women in the workforce. Author Malcolm Gladwell wrote the New York Times #1 national bestseller Outliers: The Story of Success, in which he outlines the key traits that form the individuals who are the most successful. Florence Nightingale embodies many of these traits, including entitlement, hard work, 10,000 hours, and meaningful work. She received an extraordinary set of circumstances, which allowed her to become successful and leave a lasting legacy.
In 1854, Florence Nightingale, a privileged gentlewoman, stood tall for a moment to stretch her back as she instructed her team of 34 sweaty nurses to clean the infirmary in the Scutari Hospital in Turkey. The Crimean War raged on, as Florence Nightingale received a letter from the Secretary of War, Sidney Herbert, asking for her help with the massive casualties, sickness, and injuries resulting from the war. She quickly responded, eager and honored to serve. She fumed when she arrived and saw patients lying in their own feces and an offensive stench wafted into her nose. “We must get to work immediately, where are my supplies?” she demanded to the head officer in charge. She faced a strong arrogant man whose concern had never been on the wellbeing of the sick soldiers who lay in front of him (Florence Nightingale, 2009). Florence Nightingale knew she would not get anywhere if she stayed in line and waited for her turn, so she sent letters and messengers back to Britain to obtain sterile supplies and willing nurses (Nightingale, 2002). Nightingale knew what would be best for these patients and had made up her mind that she would never let a cranky officer, or even a military commander, get in her way. More than 150 years later, after the Crimean War ended with an allied win at the Treaty of Paris, author Malcolm Gladwell wrote about the historically successful people in Outliers: The Story of Success, and claimed, “If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination you can shape the world with your desires.” (Gladwell, 2009 p.151 ).
Florence Nightingale was a rebel in her era, and as time has elapsed society has learned that “well-behaved women seldom make history”(Ulrich, 2008). Florence Nightingale played a foundational role in nursing, sanitation, health care, and statistics. Nightingale popularized the pie chart in statistics to give visual representation to data gathered specifically regarding sanitation and mortality rates. This contributed to her ability to enforce basic health care practices regarding disease control and prevention still used today (Greenbaum & Rubinstein, 2012). She also worked with the British government to enact sanitation laws that would set in motion a ripple of new sanitation procedures the future, such as the requirement of sterilizing equipment, and setting guidelines for accessibility and usage of clean water (Nightingale, 2009). Nightingale knew that by following the societal expectations of her, she would be forced to attend meaningless balls and social events, and never use her full potential to make a difference. She despised her elegant upbringing, and instead made the choice to assert herself and her ideas to leave a legacy. (Mesaros, 2018) Gladwell would argue that Nightingale stood out by choosing to take advantage of her privilege and entitlement, passionately pursuing meaningful work, and by working above and beyond 10,000 hours to make a difference.
Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820 in Florence, Italy. Raised by a wealthy family that took pride in fraternizing in elite social circles, her family and acquaintances would have very specific expectations for her life. Her father, William, the son of a wealthy banker, graduated from the University of Cambridge, and oversaw Nightingale’s education. She studied literature, mathematics, history, philosophy, French, German, Italian, Greek, and Latin, in great detail (Nightingale, 2002). Engrossing herself in her studies, she paid little mind to the social expectations her mother had for her. Her mother, the descendant of a family of merchants, desired to take full advantage of the elite connections William had, and insisted she attend numerous balls and elaborate events, but Florence would avoid them at all costs, as she felt no meaning attending such frivolous events. Nightingale could often be found studying or tending to the needs of sick or injured families or the poor in neighboring villages (Nightingale, 2002). Nightingale had a unique set of opportunities that became foundational to her life’s work. Nightingale chose to take advantage of some of the luxuries she was given, but also chose to leave some behind. These specific choices regarding how she took advantage of the circumstances she had would set her up for success. Nightingale chose to take advantage of the education she was given and became highly intelligent and well rounded, which allowed her to have more opportunities. Nightingale also had the opportunity to converse with other brilliant minds, as well as affluent social reformers, because of her social connections (Nightingale, 2002). These connections gave her insight on the needs of the outside world and inspired more curiosity and desire to help beyond her elite social circle and its neighboring villages (Nightingale, 2002). These opportunities greatly influenced Nightingale’s ability and desire to serve, which led to her ultimate success.
While researching the necessity of opportunities and success, Gladwell discovered that, “it is those who are successful… who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to success.” He goes on to explain that special opportunities due to privilege lead to “accumulative advantages.” (Gladwell, 2009, p.30). Gladwell starts his book, Outliers, by explaining how even seemingly insignificant traits, such as a child’s birthday, can prove to be an advantage that snowballs into a successful career in their field. Gladwell researched the analysis of successful hockey players, and found that they all had birthdays early in the year. He found that the earlier a child’s birthday occurred in the year, the stronger, and more capable they would be compared to their peers with later birthdays. This advantage of a few months gave these young athletes more opportunities, such as being placed on higher teams and getting better coaching, giving them better athletic success in the long run. These small traits, such as height and birthday, could end up making or breaking a person’s career. Similarly, a few small traits that accumulated in Nightingale’s life that lead to her success. Being born in an affluent neighborhood, to a wealthy, educated family, set Nightingale up for success. Because of her wealth and location, she had the opportunity to encounter many social reformers that gave her insight and passion for helping those in need. Without having these resources, she may not have ever been able to make the impact she did.
At seventeen years old, Florence Nightingale walked the gardens of her family’s summer estate, lost in thought. She heard a quiet, yet bold voice, that came out of nowhere and stopped her in her tracks. The distinct voice asked Nightingale, “Will you do good for me?” She looked around confused and didn’t see anyone, as the voice asked again, “Will you do good for me without regards to reputation?” She had been waiting for a sign, a symbol, a calling, or anything to tell her although she hadn’t realized that this quite yet (Jamison, 2018). Filled with confusion about the calling she had just experienced, Nightingale returned to her room to journal her experience. Not until a few years later, did she begin to understand what it meant, and began to call the voice she heard, her ‘call to service’ from God. She went to her mother to tell her of the calling that she had received, and her mother responded with disappointment and apathy. “What?” her mother asked, unamused. “God spoke to me in the gardens,” Florence said, “I have to follow his direction I need to go serve I need to be a nurse.” Her mother shook her head and explained to her once again that as an attractive young woman, she would make a lovely wife to some elite man someday, but nothing more. Her mother went on to remind her that women suited for nursing included peasants and drunks who couldn’t make their way up in society, and that it would not be an appropriate place for a beautiful, educated woman (Nightingale, 2002). Frustrated with her mother’s response, she fumed, but refused to let it define her. She would continue to study beyond the basic knowledge she was taught by her father, and chose to study unconventional topics relating to patient care and sanitation. Being passionate about her study of mathematics and its application in statistics, she would study its application to helping people in the world. She would walk around the outskirts of her family estates to practice what she had read about, and carefully treat the sick and needy around her, and keep detailed journals about it. She would continue to fight her mother for years about the necessity of Florence’s call to serve others to the point that, she recorded in her diaries notes about how controlling her mother became, and that compared to her mother, she described herself as “more good-natured and complying” (Florence Nightingale, 2009)
At 23 years old, Nightingale’s parents finally allowed her to attend nursing school. She eagerly traveled to Germany to Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserwerth. Shortly afterward, in the early 1850s, she took a job at Middlesex Hospital in London and quickly became promoted to superintendent. Challenged by a cholera outbreak as well as unsanitary conditions conducive to the rapid spread of disease, she “made it her mission to improve hygiene practices, significantly lowering the death rate at the hospital in the process” (Florence Nightingale, 2009).
Gladwell writes, “Working really hard is what successful people do…” and Nightingale did indeed work boldly to surpass the barriers in her life, including her family, and societal barriers of the time, regarding gender and class. In an interview regarding meaningful work, Gladwell defined it as, “Work that is complex, that occupies your mind. And work where there is a relationship between effort and reward — for everything you put in, you get something out…”(Linderman, 2008) Another educated author who studied success in business and management, Peter Drucker, wrote books and articles about the same concept saying, “When all is said and done, our success is pretty empty unless it has included some degree of significance…” (1999)
Nightingale craved something deeper, and thrived in the complex, the challenging, and the meaningful work.
Nightingale embodied the idea that she needed to occupy her mind and use all of her ability and knowledge to make a difference. She refused to attend meaningless social events because they didn’t prove any worth or value to her or anyone else. Nightingale even turned down numerous marriage proposals, saying, while they stimulated her intellectually and romantically, her “moral…active nature…requires satisfaction, and that would not find it in this life.” (Florence Nightingale, 2009). Nightingale craved something deeper, and thrived in the complex, the challenging, and the meaningful work. Nightingale could have chosen to stay satisfied with the life handed to her on her parents’ silver platter, but instead chose to fight to be successful and to pursue meaningful work. Nightingale became successful because she had a passion for improving the care of patients. She fought societal standards to eventually improve care for patients and improve treatment of nurses.
In the 1850s when Nightingale worked in the Crimean War hospital, she would often work back to back shifts, without taking breaks while doing her duty to care for the soldiers. She took care in the evenings to quietly walk through the dark hallways carrying her signature lamp with her as she cared gently for each patient. The soldiers noticed Nightingale’s intentionality to infuse kindness in her care, and began calling her “the Lady with the Lamp,” some simply called her “the Angel of the Crimea.” (Florence Nightingale, 2009; Steele, 2017)
Nightingale also spent hours every day obtaining more sterile supplies, scrubbing the walls of the infirmaries, and ensuring the sanitation of the facility. Her work reduced the hospital’s death rate from 40 percent to 2 percent, as more patients reportedly died of communicable disease than battle wounds (Young, Hortis De Smith, Chambi, & Finn, 2011).
In addition to vastly improving the sanitary conditions of the hospital, Nightingale ensured the overall wellbeing of the patients in the hospital by ensuring the availability of healthy food, establishing procedures regarding cleaning linens, and even stimulating the patients intellectually by creating classrooms. Nightingale insisted that “the hospital exists for the patient, not the patient for the hospital.” She demanded that patients should get the best rooms in the hospital, as well as fresh air, light, stimulation, healthy food, and peace, in order to heal well. Nightingale insisted that a nurse’s role above all else included providing comfort so that the patient could heal. (McDonald, 2013)
Nightingale could have simply done her job as a nurse and cleaned and monitored her patients, but she chose to go above and beyond that in time and effort. She took extra time researching and recording the best treatment and sanitation for the hospital. She also spent extra time and effort finding new ways to provide for the patients, beyond basic care to give their lives more meaning, and leave a greater impact.
In Gladwell’s book, Outliers, he analyzed the idea that with significant time spent on something, success follows suit. Gladwell simplified this idea by analyzing the length of time someone will spend on a math problem before they give up, and how that reflected their attitude, mindset and overall success. He found that, “success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.” (Gladwell, 2009, p.246) By this, he meant that the people who are willing to put in extra time to try to solve math problems, are more likely to put in more time and effort in the long run, which will make them stand out compared to others who may choose not to put extra time and effort in to their tasks and challenges. In the same way, Nightingale didn’t simply accept the conditions of the hospitals, or accept the mortality rates, instead she chose to work those extra minutes and study for those extra hours to find the solution. Gladwell concludes in his book,“In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.” Gaining this much experience takes significant intentionality to achieve if a person wants to become an expert or true success at something. Gladwell explains that only the very best and the most motivated can achieve 10,000 hours of anything. Nightingale, however, may have been one of the outliers that reached 10,000 hours with ease. (Gladwell, 2009, p.40)
She simply decided to follow her calling.
Nightingale often helped the needy around her family’s estate from a very young age, and her father encouraged her to study often. Growing up, she went on many trips, allowing her to experience a variety of people and gain experience and knowledge applicable to her later work. Beyond that, she began working in hospitals in her twenties and worked and studied full time from then on. During Nightingale’s time at Scutari Hospital, she worked at least 20 hour shifts and often refused to rest and take breaks and time off (Mackowiak, 2015). There aren’t clear records about exactly how much time she cared for patients growing up, or how many days she took off in Crimea, but based on the attitude she had about work, and the persistence she had, it can be estimated that she worked to nearly achieve 10,000 hours. If Nightingale worked 20 hour shifts, 6 days per week, for the year and a half she worked in Scutari, she would have worked approximately 9,360 hours. Based on her doggedness and determination, she may have worked even longer. Additionally, she previously worked full time in hospitals and became known for her service in local villages something that would have likely filled the rest of the 640 hours she would need to reach 10,000 hours. With all of this intentionality in her work it would be easy to see all of this time adding up to 10,000 hours, providing the level of mastery Gladwell describes.
Nightingale’s feet stepped out of a rusted boat that smelled of fish and sweat. Her feet finally set on solid ground near Lea Hurst, Britain, and she stopped to set down her belongings and stretch her sore back. Exhausted and dazed, she thanked the crew. She turned to see a crowd of people coming toward her. As her eyes focused and adjusted to the light, she saw royal guards leading the herd of people nearing her. Overwhelmed and confused by all of the ruckus, Nightingale tried to focus on the guards who talked to her in booming voices as they congratulated her on her heroism. The guards’ words flew past her as she scanned the jubilant crowd. Her head spun from exhaustion and confusion, as she looked up at the guards again, they bowed to her and said “…with that, we present you with the ‘Nightingale Jewel’ as they handed her a fancy engraved broach. She stood there, still stunned as they placed the broach in her hand. “Queen Victoria has also awarded you $250,000 on behalf of the British government” the guards continued, as they handed her awards and certificates (Florence Nightingale, 2009). Still overwhelmed by the elaborate greeting and extravagant gifts she thought to herself, “I don’t deserve this” She simply decided to follow her calling.
Nightingale’s humility had carried her and would continue to carry her until her death shortly after. Soon bedridden from “Crimean Fever” she became plagued with fatigue, pain, depression, and periods of intense sickness. Although she spent most of the end of her life in bed, she wrote more than 200 books, papers and articles, all to educate and inform the world about patient care, nursing, statistics, and sanitation. Not only did Nightingale make an impact in her patients’ lives, she continued to write bold pieces and use the money and gifts she received to create a nursing school and further rights and education for nurses. (Nightingale, 2009)
Nightingale’s success in leaving a lasting legacy directly reflected her meticulous intentionality in her life. She chose to use her privilege, passion for others, meaningful work, and much of the time of her life to humbly serve others. Gladwell writes, “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.”(Gladwell, 2009, p.155). Nightingale’s success was not a coincidence, but a specific set of circumstances that brought her to her ultimate success, without her education, her access to resources, and her motivation, Nightingale would never have been able to leave a lasting legacy without these powerful opportunities.
Florence Nightingale will continue to be recognized for her work in nursing, statistics, sanitation, and empowerment for women. Her legacy will directly live on in the way health professionals care for their patients, and will continue to the be the cause for change in any other work forces.
As author Malcolm Gladwell explained in Outliers: The Story of Success, it took specific key traits to make her successful. Nightingale embodies many of these traits, including entitlement, hard work, 10,000 hours, as well as meaningful work, to be successful, and we too can find the privileges, opportunities, gifts, and traits that each of us has to be successful. Florence Nightingale received an extraordinary set of circumstances, which allowed her to become successful and leave a lasting legacy, and each of us also has something extraordinary about us, or ingrained in us, that we can use that to lead to our own success.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maggie Enright, a freshman from Mankato, Minn., seeks to pursue a hospital nursing career, to instill hope and in critically ill patients and their families. Enright likes spending time in nature, caring for children, and spending quality time playing card games with those she loves.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
Research takes time and dedication. Going into my paper, I was convinced that I could scribble out a 10 page paper in a couple solid hours and a strong cup of coffee. I was wrong. It took multiple edits, a few more than my originally planned 3 hours, a midnight phone call to my brother, and lots of emotional support.
Public speaking will probably never be fun, but it can be a positive experience. Since 5th grade, when I presented my Lost At Sea, Castaway, presentation and my twin brother laughed at me, I have always dreaded speaking in front of my peers. I have learned in this class, however, that public speaking can be a positive experience for the audience as well as the speaker. My hands may have shaken and sweat all day leading up to my speeches in Inquiry Seminar, but I completed them, and completed them well. Public speaking is a lot like teaching, which is something that I love to do. With the right mindset about the presentation of my material I can and will be successful in public peaking.
Malcolm Gladwell is a brilliant man, but sometimes I don’t agree with him. Gladwell has clearly done significantly more research than I have, however he makes broad generalizations that I don’t agree with, and that’s okay. Gladwell has a very valid argument supported by solid research, and we can use and apply that research in writing and life.
Book Club’s can have a deep impact if you let them. There were days in my Outliers: Story of Success Book Club, that it was very evident none of us had completely read or understood anything that Gladwell wanted us to understand in his chapters. We all sat there awkwardly, and learned very little about Gladwell, success, or each other. I did have a different experience however reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. My partner and I were able to deeply relate to Susan Cain’s experiences, as well as each other. We found meaning and impact in our book club, because we let it have an impact.
Studying takes work. Studying will never be my favorite activity, but it does make a difference in the total success of a course. Whether it be studying the histology of the digestive system, or studying Gladwellian traits, being more educated always feels better than neglecting my studies.
Meeting with Scott was not as scary as I thought it would be. I get nervous when I get critiques on my writing because I tend to be a perfectionist, but I have enjoyed receiving specific critiques regarding my writing so that I can improve in the long run.
Eric Adler was a foundational example of how a writer can use creativity, personality, specificity, and good writing. In his work, Sara’s Hope, He wrote a compelling story of a young girl. In a few short pages, I was emotionally invested, and needed to find out what was going to happen. I hope to continue to use Eric Adler as an example for my future writing, to be precise, engaging, and creative.
Group Selfies can make you cringe, but worth the time. Meeting with my team made a significant impact on my writing overall. From giving encouragement and emotional support while writing my paper, to giving me helpful applicable feedback, I was able to be more successful with their help.
As Malcolm Gladwell wisely states, “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.” I have learned that I can find success in my own life, if I choose to take advantage of the circumstances and opportunities I have been given.
I’m a nerd, and sometimes I really enjoy writing papers. They take a lot of work, but I love the feeling of finally submitting a paper I feel good about.
Naming Dogs sounds ridiculous when you are trying to frantically explain it to your roommate at 10:30pm while she is graciously helping you edit your paper, but it makes a significant difference in a person’s writing. My writing style has drastically changed since taking this class. In high school my AP Language and Composition teacher loved my writing, and I thought that meant I was excelling. As it turns out, I have had to make many changes in my writing such as naming dogs, and I still have refinement to do in the future. I have seen significant improvement in my active voice, my specificity, and clarity in my writing style.
Scott Winter will probably always be confused about whether I am an elementary education major or a nursing major, and that’s okay. He asked me at least 3 times during the course of this class about something regarding my future as an educator. I often contemplate switching my major to elementary education like my roommates, so I don’t have to memorize any more science vocabulary. Maybe it’s foreshadowing. Maybe it’s not.
(Editor’s Note: This paper was written as part of a GES160 Inquiry Seminar class at Bethel University in Saint Paul, Minn.)
