Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the Lady with the Lamp, as she was affectionately called, has been heralded by many in the nursing profession as the founder of modern nursing.  The philosophy and practice of nursing today are rooted in her observations, experiences, and writings.  Her observations of hospital practices in Europe and deplorable war conditions for the care of soldiers in the mid nineteenth century served as the impetus for global action to improve conditions and to train nurses, not only to perform basic skills of care but to understand the source and transmission of disease and to “think critically about the care of the patient and do what was appropriate and necessary to assist the patient to heal” (McEwen and Wills, 2007, p. 136).   Her insights into the role of the nurse, apart from medicine, and the nurse’s influence on the health and well being of people, are the foundation of many of the nursing theories today.  Florence Nightingale placed great value on education.