Sarah Elizabeth Wardroper appointment as matron at St Thomas' Hospital in January 1854. Although nursing was still largely a disreputable occupation she made St Thomas' a model of reformed, professional, nursing and in 1860, with the creation of the training school for nurses by the Nightingale Fund at the same hospital, she was appointed superintendent. Florence Nightingale selected St Thomas' Hospital as the site for her new nurse training school, largely because of Wardroper's qualities (and those of the enlightened resident medical officer, R.G. Whitfield). Nightingale, Wardroper and Whitfield worked together to establish the new school, the first secular training school for nurses
Florence Nightingale Museum Register of Nurses that lists women who served under Nightingale in the military hospitals in Turkey and the Crimean. Audio tours are free with entry and accessed via a set of stethoscopes. Interactive exhibits have been created to offer different ways of exploring Florence's story and influence. Free creative activities for children are offered during the holidays. There is also a resource centre which is open by appointment to students, academics and other researchers, who may use the museum's collections, books and documents related to Florence Nightingale. The museum is a member of the London Museums of Health & Medicine.