Florence Nightingale also known as “The lady with the lamp” is among the people who contributed greatly to the nursing world. She was a popular nurse who gained recognition even in the modern generation because of the work she put towards the growth and development of nursing practice. Her nursing environmental theory transformed nursing by improving the sanitary conditions in hospitals in the hopes of improving patients’ health care.

Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory

Florence Nightingale became the first female theorist in the nursing world because of her nursing theories the most popular being the environmental theory. Her theory emphasized helping patients to recover with the help of the surrounding environment. She encouraged nurses to observe the patient’s surroundings and make sure it has a positive impact on the recovery process of the patient.

Some of the environmental factors she referred to were light, clean water, enough food, and fresh air. Apart from all these, she recommended warmth, quiet and appropriate die as recovery needs. These practices have been upheld even in the modern nursing world and applied by students when writing their research papers. It is because of Nightingale that the modern nursing profession is functional.

Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory examples

Five components were essential for the environmental theory to be successful. Below we will discuss the environmental factors.

1. Light

As we all know our bodies require vitamins to be healthy. Vitamin D is acquired from direct sunlight. Nightingale discovered the importance of sunlight on patients.

2. Clean water

If proper sanitation and management of water are not observed the water becomes contaminated. Patients who consume this water cannot recover. Contaminated water has impurities and bacteria that transmit diseases like cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea.

3. Effective drainage

A bad drainage system is a breeding ground for diseases. As we all know stagnant water attracts insects like mosquitoes to breed there. Apart from malaria, there is bilharzia and lymphatic filariasis just to mention a few. All these sewer diseases pose a threat to the healthy and worse the sick.

4. Cleanliness

Poor sanitation leads to the accumulation of things like bacteria and dust which are bad for the patient’s health. The patient should also observe personal hygiene on his journey to recovery.

5. Fresh air

Patients should be kept in a well-ventilated area to ensure there is a supply of fresh air. If there is poor ventilation the patient can contract air-borne diseases. You should also ensure the patient is warm to prevent them from catching cold-related diseases. The patient also required to be kept in a quiet environment and put on a healthy diet.

These environmental factors challenged Florence Nightingale in her journey to provide better health care to all patients. Unlike the modern world, nurses back then did not have enough knowledge of what was supposed to be done.  This made them incompetent and ineffective in taking care of the patients. When these environmental factors were implemented the patients’ health improved.

What are the 4 concepts of nursing theory Nightingale?

Florence Nightingale explained how the environment brings diseases from dirt and bacteria. She stated that the environment should always be kept clean to prevent the spread of diseases.  She stated that everything is dependent on the other for survival and that included health care.

Nightingale put her theories to the test and they proved successful. The four main concepts in nursing are environment, patient (people), health, and nursing. Different theorists expound on them according to their beliefs and understanding.

Florence Nightingale meta paradigm

1. Person

Following Florence Nightingale, the person is the patient getting health care. She stated individuals comprise social, spiritual, biological, and psychological components. The patient’s physical body falls under the biological component and can be treated using medicine when sick. Social component goes hand in hand with psychological components because they involve socializing, feelings, and thoughts. Nightingale believed every person is worthy of health care which she stated as the spiritual component. Florence Nightingale believed the person theory involved blending all the components of the environment.

2. Environment

The environment is an important aspect of the recovery process and has five components. These components are called “health of houses” and teach us the environmental factors we should pay attention to. Nature aids in the recovery process and thus the health of houses should be maintained in a way patients will benefit. The perfect environment offers the patient enough ability to get back to health.

3. Health

Good health is a result of many factors and not only a lack of disease. A person must also possess good psychological, physical, and environmental factors. Florence stated that a person must learn to control all these factors to work to their advantage. When patients are sick they become restless and uncomfortable. Florence said that the only way the body can solve underlying problems is through the manifestation of diseases. Necessary interventions help in disease correction. Pure water, fresh air, cleanliness, proper drainage, and light are important aspects of a patient’s recovery process.

4. Nursing

Florence Nightingale believed that nursing and medicine were very different. To her medicine should be used as a last result in the patient’s journey to recovery. Nursing on the other hand relies on environmental components that will help nurse the patient to health. She stated that most of the patients suffered because of poor environmental factors and if these factors were improved for the better so would their health. Nightingale’s first solution to her patient’s ailments was providing better environmental conditions.

Why is Florence Nightingale’s theory important?

Apart from contributing to the development of nursing practice from service to being a profession Nightingale’s theory has served in many other ways.

1. Every healthcare staff is important

Every person involved in providing health care services matters. From nurses to doctors and the whole hospital management are responsible for making sure every individual seeking medical care gets standard care.

2. Invest in tools and methods

Florence set specific health goals that she worked to attain together with her team. She researched ways to improve every day with the help of books and diagrams. She introduced sanitary measures for her team and the patients. After implementing these conditions they saved more lives than before.

3. Quality health care

Her goal was always to ensure patients were treated right. She came up with ways of ensuring patients were well looked after and treated with compassion and respect. They cooked better meals, washed the sheets and sleeping areas, and even provided the availability of entertainment for the patients like books.

4. Cultural beliefs

Many patients needed a lot of convincing to believe in hospitals and medicine. Cultural beliefs impacted the way many people embraced health care. Florence was devoted to breaking these beliefs and encouraging patients who were afraid to seek better health care.

5. Nurses are important people

Nightingale sought to build a world where nurses were treated as important people. She fought to turn nursing practice into a profession. Nurses can learn, understand, and analyze different theories and principles in nursing. She also made sure that nurses receive better working conditions like hourly shifts. All this was meant to help nurses provide better health care to all who need it.

6. Gain knowledge

Florence Nightingale believed that acquiring knowledge was important in reaching the goal of providing better health care. She studied different ways of solving health issues majoring in the use of statistics. Through statistics, she could gain data on the rate at which soldiers died from contracting different infections.

Application of Nightingale’s Theory in nursing practice

Nightingale’s theory is in application in modern nursing as nurses use it as a basis to provide health care. The fundamental basis of the theory is to provision of a conducive environment to enable the patient to steamroll the healing process.

1. Based on fresh air, patients are recommended to be placed in locations that are not stuffy. Hospitals air conditioning systems that include fans. It is essential as it offers the body the ability to have enough oxygen in the system. In addition, other benefits include assistance in cleaning the lungs, improvement of digestion, and lowering of blood pressure.
2. Hospitals and homes providing health care for recuperating patients need to have drainage systems. The systems will ensure control of water-borne diseases that if contracted will deteriorate the health condition of the patient.
3. Clean water is a topic conversed by Nightingale. Clean water can be used in wound healing and hydration. Hospitals have dispensers and use water that has been purified. Using clean water ensures that patients do not contract water-borne infections.

To wind up

Florence Nightingale’s theory of nursing involves using the patients surrounding to help them recover. She states that most people get sick because of neglecting their environment. Improving your surrounding by having clean water, fresh air, a proper drainage system, light, and proper hygiene will keep you healthy and improve a patient’s recovery system.

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