Nurse education qualification courses have graduate status. Traditionally, from the times prior to Florence Nightingale, nursing was seen as an apprenticeship, often undertaken in religious institutes such as convents by young women, although there has always been a proportion of male nurses, especially in mental health services. In 1860 Nightingale set up the first nurse training school at St Thomas' Hospital, London. Nightingale's curriculum was largely base around nursing practice, with instruction focused upon the need for hygiene and task competence. Her methods are reflected in her "Notes on Nursing", (1898). Some other nurses at that time, notably Ethel Gordon Fenwick, were
Florence Nightingale Foundation The Florence Nightingale Foundation annual conference is a developmental conference for all nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals across all aspects of healthcare delivery. The event includes masterclasses, lectures, and networking, and hosts national and international speakers. A Commemoration Service is held in May of each year to celebrate Florence Nightingale. It is an opportunity to honour Florence on her birthday, 12 May, and to celebrate International Nurses Day. Central to the service is the Lamp which was given to the Foundation by Sir Dan Mason OBE in 1968 in memory of his mother Kathleen Dampier-Bennett, a Trustee and supporter of