Florence Nightingale introduced many of the practices and beliefs that are at the basis of modern health care systems. Through dedication, perseverance, and complete commitment to achieving the changes she felt were needed, she overcame objections from many sources to create the beginnings of today's medical procedures.

Nightingale worked tirelessly to develop and enforce standards of cleanliness for patients and facilities, both of which were unheard of considerations prior to her efforts. She championed the cause of specific training for nurses and then fought, ultimately successfully, to change the attitudes of the day so that nurses were allowed to work with doctors cooperative efforts to care for patients. She also integrated care of the patients' emotional as well as physical welfare by introducing recreational opportunities into the health care settings in which she worked.