While in London on vacation I made a point of seeking out all things Nightingale. Unfortunately,
the museum was closed for renovations. There were two striking memorials I did visit: one at
St Paul's Cathedral and the other at Waterloo Place, pictured here.
Florence
Nightingale's contribution to quality improvement was nothing short of
breakthrough. Two facts I learned while in London suggest a persistent
Nightingale Challenge to guide improvement.
First was her work improve hygiene practices in military hospitals resulting in a
dramatic reduction in the infection-related mortality rate among wounded soldiers - from 40% to 2%!
Second was her interest in making statistics visible and understandable. Apparently
in order to advocate for improvement in military procedures she needed
to persuade Queen Victoria and felt that a report composed of text and
tables of numbers would not be convincing. The coxcomb graph (animated on this page)
was an attempt to turn data into a picture that could be easily
understood. This graph has not stood the test of time, and a simpler
presentation of the same data is probably appropriate. The point is she
recognized the need to make data understandable and convincing.
So, the Nightingale challenge is twofold: set out to accomplish
dramatic improvement by setting stretch goals, think 40 to 2. And, use
meaningful data that answers important questions displayed in a simple
manner such as run charts annotated with change; tell a story that
anyone can follow.