A Research Study On A Nurse Working Under The Nightingale's Theory

Nightingale, F. (1860).Notes on nursing: what it is and what it is not. New York:D.Appleton And Company.

Kristen M. Swanson may not be as well-known as Florence Nightingale in the nursing field, but she has made great contributions with the Theory of Caring that has been used in many hospitals, even internationally, for their framework to guide patient care. Through the study of her practice, I have realized much of her practice is reflected in mine. This paper will present the basic concept of nursing known as the metaparadigm concepts of person, health, environment, and nursing as presented by Swanson, as well as provide my own philosophy of nursing, which in many ways mirrors Swanson’s.

This paper will examine the origin of the nursing theory in reference to the Florence Nightingale Theory of Positive Manipulation Of the environment. Initially the paper will introduce the theorist and the context in which the theory was developed. Will critique the theory according to nursing theory critique. The paper will further describe the utility of the theory with respect to practice, administration, education and research will also examine the empirical precision of the theory(testability and logical adequacy). Infact the entire paper demonstrates the understanding of the theory.

The concept of environment and its integral role in the delivery of nursing care was among the first identified and documented nursing theory since its early days. Florence Nightingale pioneered the profession of nursing and along with it, pioneered the concept of nursing theory. Her environmental theory was patient focused and incorporated five environmental components needed to promote health. Jarrin (2012) supported that the role of nursing is to promote the best possible environment for the patient to assist in their natural reparative process. According to Rahim (2013), as considered as the profession’s first nurse theorist, Florence Nightingale provided the essential foundation in environmental theory. She believed

Florence Nightingale’s nursing theory is probably the most well known in the nursing profession. “Patients are to be put in the best condition for Nature to act on them. It is the responsibility of nurses to reduce noise, to relieve patients’ anxiety, and to help them sleep” (Theories of Florence Nightingale, 2012). This theory emphasizes that environmental factors and adaptation is the basis of holistic nursing care. This theory is important in my opinion because it ensures that the center of focus is on the patient. When patients are hospitalized making them comfortable in a new and strange environment is important to me. Eliminating noise at the nursing station and turning down the lighting in the hallways at night are just a few ways that nurses can improve the environmental factors surrounding patients. During hospitalizations I strive to eliminate any anxiety that my patient may be experiencing. Upcoming procedures and treatments can cause tremendous stress. Simply by providing sufficient information regarding treatments or procedures can be beneficial in reducing anxiety or

Grand theories are relatively abstract concepts and help to provide nursing knowledge in a general way. However, this theory is the most complex and widest in scope of the level of theory have been subdivided into Human needs, Interactive and Unitary process theories (McEwen, & Wills, 2014). For this reason, Nightingale’s Environmental theory is part of the grand theory because it encompasses different areas of nursing care. This theory incorporate knowledge made from observing the patient and critical thinking as contrast to empirical and medical care (McEwen, & Wills, 2014). Between these three subdivisions, Nightingale’s theory is also a Human Need Theory because she based her theory on how the environment cause changes in ill patients. Nightingale used inductive reasoning through observation and experiences to obtain laws of health, disease and nursing (pdf).

A quote from Nightingales early writings defined “nursing is the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist in recovery” this is not only true in a patient’s recovery but is also true for the well being and the health of the patient and family included (Harvard Libraries, 2012). Nightingales theory of environment is the responsibility of the nurse this in essesence make the nurse in control of the patient’s environment, she has the ability to identify the environmental deficits and apply Nightingale’s concepts directs the nurse to make adjustments and advocate for the patient .(Harvard Libraries, 2012).

Florence Nightingale, born in 1820, revolutionized nursing as it is today. Throughout her time working with the wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, she noted that more soldiers were dying of infections than from wounds. Therefore, she worked to ensure sanitation as well as sufficient health and healing practices amongst her patients. From care to prevention, Nightingale’s practices were able to set the foundation for nurses today. Nightingale distinguished that a healthy environment is essential to one’s health and thus her tenets of ventilation, cleanliness, light, as well as nutrition set the bases of the City of Toronto’s tuberculosis program for the under-housed, homeless, and the correctional population.

Florence Nightingale, or as soldiers on the battlefield would call her the “Lady with the Lamp”, was an inspirational women of the nineteenth century that had many aspirations and dreams concerning the care of others. Achieving these dreams by “facilitating the reparative processes of the body by manipulating the patient’s environment” (Potter & Perry 2009, p. 45); Nightingale laid the foundations of modern nursing and gave the country and many others a system that has stood the test and remains timeless. In this, Florence has become one of the most widely known nursing theorist to this day.

The Environmental Theory by Florence Nightingale defined Nursing as “the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery” (Alice Petiprin, 2014). It involves the nurse’s initiative to make environmental settings appropriate to aid in the recovery of the patient’s health. According to Nightingale all external factors are somehow associated with the patient and affects their life physically, mentally, and socially (Alice Petiprin, 2014).

I will be summarizing Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not by Florence Nightingale. Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not was first published in 1860 with the last edition being published in 1969 (Adams-Wending, 2010). Nightingale’s theory addresses the importance of providing an environment that is conducive to the healing process for patients (Nightingale, 1860). Nightingale’s theory of the environment was based off the idea that disease was caused by smell of decomposing matter (Adams-Wending, 2010). The theory is broken down into thirteen “canons” of nursing (Nightingale, 1860). The thirteen topics within this theory are: ventilation and warming, health of houses, petty management, noise, variety, taking food, what food?, bed and bedding, cleanliness of rooms and walls, personal cleanliness, chattering of hope and advices, and observations of the sick. Nightingale (1860) states that ventilation is to make the air the patient breaths as fresh as the air outside. This also goes into detail of removing chamber pots

There are four basic metaparadigms patient, nurse, health and environment. “A metaparadigm is the world view of a discipline – the view that distinguishes the focus of a discipline. A metaparadigm, which is thought to be the most abstract viewpoint of a discipline, is made up of concepts that define the discipline” (Butts & Rich, 2011. p.93 para. 1).

The concept of environment and its integral role in the delivery of nursing care was among the first identified and documented nursing concept since its early days. Florence Nightingale pioneered the profession of nursing and along with it, pioneered the concept of Nursing Theory. Her Environmental Theory was patient focused and incorporated five environmental components needed to promote health. Jarrin (2012) supported that the role of nursing is to promote the best possible environment for the patient to assist in their natural reparative process. It dates back from the time of ancient Greek philosophers and historians, including Plato, Hippocrates, and Aristotle, whose works are studied by Nightingale in her early years. According to Rahim (2013), as considered as the profession’s first nurse theorist, Florence Nightingale provided the essential foundation in environmental theory. She believed that some laws of nature, when applied and integrated into nursing care, can assist individuals in restoring their health during their illness, and, in those who are already healthy, promote health and prevent illness.

Throughout Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale expresses the importance of proper care to patients. Another factor of nursing that was effected by Nightingale is the professionalism of nursing and how nursing is not only a science, but an art. Nightingale states how numerous subjects in nursing should be improved upon. The specific chapters that show how Nightingale has improved nursing within Notes on Nursing were Light, Personal Cleanliness, Chattering Hopes and Advices, and Ventilation and Warming. In chapter 9, Light, Florence Nightingale emphasizes the impact of sunlight on the patient and how it improves their health. Personal cleanliness was reviewed in chapter 11. Nightingale explores the importance cleanliness has on a patient. Within chapter 12, Nightingale states how to properly advise the sick, as well as give hope to patients. In chapter 1, Ventilation and Warming, Nightingale states the need for pure air within a patient’s room. These chapters express the importance of properly taking care of patients. The focus of this paper is how it was applied during Nightingale’s time and how it is still relevant today in nursing practice. The chapters within Notes on Nursing have had a profound impact on the practice of nursing today.

This course really developed my self as a nurse, and it will help me in giving care to actual clients in the real world as well. First of all, this course taught us all about Florence Nightingale, who is viewed as one of the first nursing theorists. Her becoming a nurse, her practices as a nurse, her theory, her tenets, and most importantly, her being one of the most influential figures, even as of this very day. In this course, through essay writing we understood more about how Florence Nightingale’s theory and practices are still relevant today. We were able to connect her tenets to the real world programs. This can really help us in giving care because we learnt about how her practices are applied and so we are also able to apply her practices while providing clients care. Not only that, but we learned about how committed Nightingale was to provide the utmost care for the client and how the client is very important, with knowing this, we can also provide the greatest care that the client deserves. She strived for professional nursing and had laid the foundation, and we need to follow in these footsteps as well. Her achievements can aid in motivating us to become better and improve ourselves as a nurse everyday, as she did emphasize the importance of restoring one’s health.