Biomaterial Database

Florence Nightingale. A 19th-century mystic. 1998

B M Dossey

Holistic Nursing Consultants, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) received a clear and profoundly moving Call to serve God at the age of 16. Through a lifetime of hard work and discipline, she became a practicing mystic in the Western tradition, thereby becoming an instrument of God's love, which was the primary source of her great energy and the fabled "Nightingale power." To understand the life and work of this legendary healer, who forever changed human consciousness, the role of women, and nursing and public health systems in the middle of the 19th century, it is necessary to understand her motivation and inspiration. The purpose of this article is to discuss her life and work in the context of her mystical practice and to show the parallels between her life and the lives of three recognized women mystics.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008888	Military Nursing	The practice of nursing in military environments.	Nursing, Military and Naval,Military and Naval Nursing,Nursing, Military,Military Nursings,Nursings, Military
D009228	Mysticism	A philosophy based upon spiritual intuition that is believed to transcend ordinary sensory experiences or understanding.	Mysticisms
D009718	Nurse Administrators	Nurses professionally qualified in administration.	Nurse Executives,Nurse Managers,Administrator, Nurse,Administrators, Nurse,Executive, Nurse,Executives, Nurse,Manager, Nurse,Managers, Nurse,Nurse Administrator,Nurse Executive,Nurse Manager
D002835	Christianity	The religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ: the religion that believes in God as the Father Almighty who works redemptively through the Holy Spirit for men's salvation and that affirms Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior who proclaimed to man the gospel of salvation. (From Webster, 3d ed)	Stigmata,Christian Ethics,Christian Ethic,Ethic, Christian,Ethics, Christian
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D049668	History, 15th Century	Time period from 1401 through 1500 of the common era.	15th Century History,15th Cent. History (Medicine),15th Cent. History of Medicine,15th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 15th Century,History of Medicine, 15th Cent.,History, Fifteenth Century,Medical History, 15th Cent.,Medicine, 15th Cent.,15th Cent. Histories (Medicine),15th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 15th (Medicine),Cent. History, 15th (Medicine),Century Histories, 15th,Century Histories, Fifteenth,Century History, 15th,Century History, Fifteenth,Fifteenth Century Histories,Fifteenth Century History,Histories, 15th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 15th Century,Histories, Fifteenth Century,History, 15th Cent. (Medicine)
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049691	History, Medieval	The period of history from the year 500 through 1450 of the common era.	Medieval History,History of Medicine, Medieval,History of Medicine, Renaissance,Medicine, Medieval History,Medicine, Renaissance,Medieval History (Medicine),Renaissance Medicine,Histories, Medieval (Medicine),History Medicine, Medieval,History, Medieval (Medicine),Medieval Histories (Medicine),Medieval History Medicine
D018597	Saints	Persons officially recognized or acknowledged as pre-eminent for consecration, holiness, and piety, especially through canonization by a branch of the Christian church. (From Webster, 3d ed)	Saint