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The 10 Most Famous Nurses of All Time

Admired for their keen insight, fortitude, and strength, Nurses enjoy a special place in the lore of medicine and healing.  Throughout history, they have also played an important role in literature, media, and world events.  So, join us as we break down the top ten real and fictional Nurses of all time (in no particular order).

1. Florence Nightingale.  Born to a prosperous English family, in what is now modern-day Italy, Florence Nightingale's name has become synonymous with the profession of Nursing.  At a time when Nursing was considered the province of the poor, Nightingale devoted her life to the profession.  In 1854, she traveled with a staff of 38 Nurses to Turkey, where she cared for wounded British soldiers.  Her tendency to check on soldiers in the middle of the night earned her the nickname, "The Lady of the Lamp."  A gifted statistician, Nightingale collected statistical data regarding the causes of death during the war.  Her observations led to a rethinking of military medical care and the implementation of patient medical records.  With historical accomplishments too numerous to list, she is now immortalized as the namesake of the Florence Nightingale School of Midwifery and Nursing and at King's College of London.
   
2. Clara Barton.  During the American Civil War, Barton organized help for wounded soldiers following the First Battle of Bull Run.  The war took such a toll on her health that Barton headed to Europe for a short vacation. While in Europe, she began working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).  Upon her return to America, she lobbied and won recognition for the ICRC in the United States, becoming president of the American Red Cross in May of 1881.
   
3. Mary Todd Lincoln.  The wife of Abraham Lincoln was a dyed-in-the-wool Southerner; a fact that led some critics to question her loyalty to the Union.  Nevertheless, throughout the Civil War, she proved naysayers wrong by visiting, feeding, and treating Union soldiers.  Her tireless dedication to the Union cause earned her a special place in the sorority of famous Nurses.
   
   
4. Mary Breckinridge.  Born in 1881, this pioneering Nurse led a tragic existence. After her first husband died only two years into their marriage, Breckenridge married again and bore two children.  Sadly, both children died and she was eventually divorced from her unfaithful new husband.  Disappointed by her failed personal life, she fled to Europe and joined the American Committee for Devastated France.  After her to return to America, she applied the lessons she had learned there led to found The Frontier Nursing Service.
   
   
5. Walt Whitman.  One of the most influential writers and poets in American history, Walt Whitman was also a volunteer Nurse during the Civil War.  In 1863, Whitman read a story about wounded soldiers in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Ironically, his brother's name was listed in the article.  Whitman immediately took a train to Virginia, but was robbed along the way.  After arriving completely broke, he borrowed money from his friends and tracked his brother to a hospital in Washington D.C.  After seeing his brother and other wounded soldiers, his deep love of humanity led him to becoming a volunteer Nurse.  Whitman worked in more than 40 hospitals, an experience that shaped his view world-view and deeply influenced his later writings.
   
   
6. Major Margaret J. "Hotlips" Hoolihan.  A regular on the TV series M*A*S*H, Hoolihan's character was based on the exploits of real-life Korean War Nurse, "Hotlips Hammerly."  This gorgeous blonde lived up to her name, carrying on numerous affairs with visiting diplomats, reporters, and fellow M*A*S*H medics.  She was a hard drinker and a brash, often confrontational character.  In the series finale, she enjoyed a long, steamy kiss with fellow character, Hawkeye Pierce.  Nearly 106 million Americans tuned into the episode, making it the most watched in US television history.
   
7. Carla Espinoza.  The wife of Chris Turk on the TV series Scrubs, Carla is a sassy Dominican nurse and incessant gossiper.  She's both a confidant and tormentor of the series main character, J.D, and she doesn’t take flack from anyone, including hospital bigwigs.  She's perfectly content to ridicule the rest of the staff along with fellow Nurse Laverne Roberts.  Well, at least until season six, when Nurse Roberts dies.
   
   
8. Christine Chapel.  This blonde bombshell and star of the original Star Trek series was played by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, wife of the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry.  Chapel was deeply infatuated with the half-Vulcan Mr. Spock, though he was incapable of returning her feelings.  Chapel appeared in every Star Trek series, earning her the title, "The first lady of Start Trek."
   
   
9. Audrey March Hardy.  No list would be complete without at least one Nurse from General Hospital, and no character is more deserving than Hardy, who first appeared on the show in February of 1964 and retired from the series some 43 years later in March of 2007.  Played by Rachel Ames, Hardy was held hostage, blackmailed, accused of murder, beaten by a psychopath, diagnosed and cured of Lymphoma, and moved to Vietnam to help war orphans -and that was just during the first episode.  Okay, not really.  Everyone knows the tiniest plot advances take a minimum of six weeks to unfold.
   
   
10. Samantha Taggert.  This central character on the TV series ER has been through some harrowing ordeals herself.  This single mom first appears in Season 10 of the series, and in short order punches out the abusive boyfriend of one of her patients.  Then, struggling to support her diabetic, emotionally troubled son, she moves into the mansion of an affluent patient.  However, the bliss doesn’t last.  After being kidnapped by her estranged husband, she manages to grab his gun and blow him away.  Fortunately, the death was ruled a justifiable homicide.  Whoever said truth is stranger than fiction hasn’t watch much nighttime drama.

Well, there you have it -- the top 10 real and fictional Nurses of all time.  Of all the Nurses in history and literature, none are more famous (or notorious) than these, and who knows?  Maybe a few years from now, you could bump one of these Nurses from the list and claim a Top 10 spot for yourself.  But, do make sure it's for something good.  You know, like foiling a kidnapper or punching out a violent criminal in between checking blood pressures and administering IVs.  Because when it comes to Nursing heroics, it doesn’t get any better than that.