Nightingale was from a wealthy family, yet she chose to work in the field of nurs- ing, although it was considered a “lowly” occupation. She believed nursing was her call from God, and she determined that the sick deserved civilized care, regardless of their station in life (Nightingale, 1860/1957/1969).
Through her extensive body of work she changed nursing and health care dramat- ically. Nightingale’s record of letters is voluminous, and several books have been writ- ten analyzing them, Dossey, Selanders, Beck, and Attewell (2005a) include many of them in their current publication. She wrote many books and reports to federal and worldwide agencies. Books she wrote that are especially important to nurses and nurs- ing include Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not (original publication in