The Crimean war (1853–1856) as a catalyst formation of nursing

The purpose of the study is to highlight historical milestones and the main directions of activity of the Sisters of Mercy during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Methodology. In the research process, the path of dominance of the principles and methods of knowledge was chosen, the choice of which was determined by the approaches to the disclosure of the topic, the set tasks and the specificity of the sources. The principles of historicism and objectivity were used through the use of comparative-historical, retrospective, historical-chronological methods and the method of source integrity. As part of the study of the history of the formation of a centralized system of care for the wounded and sick, general scientific methods of research, such as induction and deduction, were used. The biographical method made it possible to investigate the main sanitary problems of the countries participating in the military events of 1853-1856 through the prism of the personal experience of the main reformers of military medicine in general and nursing in particular. Scientific novelty. Аnalyzed of the main areas of work of the Sisters of Mercy, highlights the impact that their activities had on the reform of both the military and sanitary departments of the warring countries, as well as on the improvement of the health care system as a whole. It has been proven that precisely the shortcomings of the military departments of the participating countries in the matter of the modern organization of the medical and sanitary economy contributed to the activation of the public initiative, the result of which was the fact of active participation of women in the care of the wounded and sick directly in the theater of combat. Research results. In today’s conditions, the conditions of the Ukrainian-Russian war, the issue of the organization of medical support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is becoming extremely urgent. In this sense, the 170-year-old experience has not lost both its cognitive and practical significance. Study of the state of preparation of the military-sanitary structures of the warring parties on the eve of the Crimean War; the reasons that contributed to the active “participation” of the female part of society in helping the wounded and sick; the main directions of the activities of public forces during the war years are indispensable not only for solving purely military issues, they are important for finding ways to implement effective social policy in the future.