She attended a collegiate institution after high school, but a significant part of her early education was attained through independent study.

Upon returning the United States, she worked as a private duty nurse for the Conover family in New Jersey.

In 1886, Hampton went to Chicago and assumed the role of superintendent of Illinois Training School for Nurses at the Cook County Hospital.

[4] It was Hampton's strong leadership and educational background that was recognized by the chairman of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, William Osler, after he said the following during the interviewing process: "Miss Isabel Hampton entered the room looking like an animated Greek statue...we knew that all was settled...Her certificates were looked at...and all was settled in a few minutes.

"[7] This text was not only unique, but critical to a better understanding of nursing as a whole because it included in-depth analyses of topics including: an outline for a 3-year long nursing curriculum, economics of hospital wards, proper hygiene protocol in hospitals, and protocol for bacteriological notes and proper bed making.

[8] Such comprehensive detail in one foundational text brought about a sense of structure in nursing and demonstrated its crucial role in the hospital environment.

"[10] In 1893 at the World's Fair in Chicago, Hampton organized the nurses section of the International Congress of Charities, Correction and Philanthropy.

Hampton also played roles in both establishing the American Journal of Nurses and a course on Hospital Economics at the Teachers College, Columbia University in 1899.

Hampton was an active member of the Matrons Council, a small international group of nurses concerned with professional development.

[3] The following awards and funds carry on Isabel Hampton's legacy by promoting leadership, perseverance, and innovation in the nursing field.