Nightingale can be titled the pioneer of the nursing profession. Her theory of the impact of the environment to human health created history and is still used today. Her focus is on making a clean, healthy, calming environment to promote a fast and productive recovery. After Florence Nightingale came up with her theory she based a school of nursing on it. This nursing theory is very important even in today’s healthcare system. In this essay I will describe Florence Nightingales theory and the impact it has on the nursing profession.
In the 1800’s, during the Crimean War, there was little health care for the sick and injured soldiers. That is until Florence Nightingale came into the picture. In 1854, Florence Nightingale trained 38 women to become nurses and they set off to care for injured soldiers. During the time when Nightingale was at the dirty, unsanitary infirmary she noticed that the death rate of men continued to climb, no matter what the nurses did. According to Harkreader, Hogan, and Thobaben, “She (Nightingale) gathered statistics on the death rate in the hospital before and after nursing intervened” (p. 8).
“She was our first theorist, recognizing the importance of the environment and basing he theory on it” (Harkreader, Hogan, and Thobaben, 2007, p78).
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... professional boundaries Evolution of Nursing Theories & Application The history of professional nursing begins with Florence nightingale. Later in last century nursing began with a strong ... the way specific conceptual frameworks and theories define the person (patient), the environment, health and nursing. IMPORTANCE OF NURSING THEORIES Nursing theory aims to describe, predict and ...
That is about the time when she noticed that the men were being subject to poor environments and poor nutrition. This is when Florence Nightingale began to make a significant difference in healthcare. Florence Nightingale is the founder of nursing as we know it. She developed the first nursing theory that says there is a direct correlation between the environment and the health and wellbeing of a sick individual.
Her definition of nursing was unlike anyone else. According to Nightingale (1860), “ (Nursing) It ought to signify the proper use of fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, and the proper selection and administration of diet-all at the least expense of vital power to the patient” (p. 3).
She made it her duty to become an advocate to clean living conditions for the sick and injured. She felt that a sick individuals environment should remain odor free with good ventilation, have reduced noise, healthy food to eat, and clean water to drink.
These simple yet important ideas lead to a drastic improvement in the health care setting. Florence Nightingale was a true inspiration to the nursing profession. Her theory on how the environment impacts the health and wellbeing of a sick individual is the basic building blocks of nursing. I agree to the fullest that the environment a person is in dictates their outcome. An ill person that is in a clean, noise free, well ventilated area, and is getting good nutrition is going to heal much faster than an ill person is a dirty, noisy, unhealthy environment.
Nightingales theory is perfect the way it is. There is nothing that needs to be changed. This theory proves that nursing is set aside apart from other medical professionals. It shows that care, compassion, and a clean environment is just as important if not more important than the other medical interventions. The most interesting part of Nightingales story is that one woman set out to make a difference and become a pt advocate for hundreds and thousands of sick and injured people.
Her passion led to the creation of the basic building blocks of nursing which are still used today. She proved that by making simple yet important changes and advances in a patients environment can be the difference between life or death. Florence Nightingales theory inspired me to not only care directly for the patient but provide a calm and caring environment to ease the pain and agony they may be feeling. Her theory has taught me think outside the box so that the ill client can have a sense of wellbeing and recover in a timely manner
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