Florence Nightingale importance of her later work in professionalising nursing roles for women. In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London. It was the first secular nursing school in the world, and is now part of King's College London. In recognition of her pioneering work in nursing, the Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses, and the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, were named in her honour, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on her birthday. Her social
SRM Nightingale School Valliammai Society began its educational activities in 1969 by starting a Primary School in the name of Florence Nightingale and upgrading the status to Matriculation Higher Secondary School in 1981. In 1984, SRM ventured into higher education with the launch of the Valliammai Polytechnic. The year 1985 saw the birth of the SRM Engineering College, the flagship institution of the group. During 1992-93 the Group ventured into medical education and started SRM College of Nursing and SRM College of Pharmacy. During 1993-94 two more medical institutions namely SRM School of Nursing and SRM College of Physiotherapy were added. During the