Susan Fleming, RN, MN (center) on a medical mission trip to Honduras.  Photo: Courtesy ExceptionalNurse.com 

Florence Nightingale may be one of the first nurses on record to practice with a disability.  It is reported that she heard voices and suffered through periods of severe depression that kept her bedridden.

A conference in 2003, sponsored by the University of Maryland, revealed that Florence Nightingale most likely suffered from bipolar disorder.  It is speculated that the manic periods of bipolar disorder allowed for the extreme productivity that allowed her to work night and day during the Crimean War—leading a group of 38 nurses—to work in abysmal circumstances that were rat infested, filthy and rife with disease.  Troops were dying by the thousands, suffering from battle wounds, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and brucellosis.

In spite of mental health challenges, Florence Nightingale worked tirelessly to improve sanitation, nutrition and compassionate care of soldiers.  She was an accomplished mathematician; the first to apply statistics to the study of public health and founded the first modern nursing school.  She also wrote many reports and books.

If Florence Nightingale were alive today, would she be on Twitter?  If so, think about the number of “followers” she would have!

Her tweets might look like this—

·         Thanks to the military nurses who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from caring for soldiers in battle.

·         Thanks to the nurses who have been assaulted by patients in emergency rooms, prisons, alternative schools and mental health settings—nurses who live with visible and invisible injuries.

·         Thanks to the nurses who have suffered exhaustion from caring for patients during natural disasters and humanitarian missions.

·         Thanks to the nurses who are struggling with depression, bipolar, eating, obsessive-compulsive, and panic disorders—those who daily demonstrate the contributions that nurses make— in spite of disabilities. 

·         Thanks to all nurses, who in spite of personal challenges get up every day and make a difference in the lives of others.

·         May the wind always be at your back.

·         Happy Nurses Week! 

In honor of Nurses Week, we would like to recognize and thank these exceptional nurses!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EJkQVhgwq0

About the Author:  Donna Maheady, Ed.D., ARNP is a pediatric nurse practitioner, nursing care consultant, and author of  "Leave No Nurse Behind: Nurses working with disAbilities" and "Nursing Students with Disabilities Change the Course". Donna is an advocate for inclusion of nurses with disabilities in nursing practice. She has taught nursing for over 20 years and worked with nursing students with a wide range of disabilities.  Donna is the founder of www.ExceptionalNurse.com, a nonprofit resource network for nurses and nursing students with disabilities. 

Click here to read more on Donna Maheady.

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