Florence Nightingale (May 12, 1820 – August 13, 1910), who came to be known as The Lady with the Lamp, is the founder of modern nursing. In her day, battlefield nurses were regarded as hangers-on without any special skills. She helped create a profession that is both medically rigorous and imbued with a sense of vocation to he help the sick and injured.Nightingale has referred to her longing and subsequent career as a "calling from God." Her decision to undertake a career in nursing was contrary to her "station in society" and defied common sense. She initially tried to ignore her calling, but suffered deep anguish. Eventually she shook free of her family's expectations. She pursued her calling with selfless service. Sometimes her own health suffered, as when she served as a nurse during the Crimean War. She would gather data about hospital conditions and created ways to present the data to administrators and doctors, seeking to demonstrate how trained nurses had a contribution to make in the care of patients. This led to her recognition as a statistician.Many women and men who have chosen a career in nursing have followed Nightingale's footsteps, in their idealism, selfless service, and professional standards. Some people think that the identification of nursing as a woman's profession and of nurses as subservient to doctors—who have been mainly men—reinforces gender stereotypes. Nightingale cannot be blamed for this, as when she was active women were only just beginning to enter the medical profession. There is little doubt that her professionalizing of nursing has impacted positively upon the lives of millions of people, and opened up opportunities both to have a career and to exercise compassion and care.