Florence Nightingale 's Theory Of The Toronto Public Health Essay

“If a patient is cold, if a patient is feverish, if a patient is faint, if he is sick after taking food, if he has a bed-sore, it is generally the fault of not of the disease, but of the nursing. I use the word nursing for want of a better” (Nightingale, 1860, p. 8). While Nightingale stressed the impact of one’s environment to promote healing, Virginia Henderson aimed to establish on the fundamental needs as a knowledge base to guide Professional nursing practice. Henderson emphasized on fourteen components required for effective nursing care which includes: breathing normally, eating and drinking adequately, elimination of body wastes, movement and posturing, sleep and rest, select suitable clothes-dress and undress, maintaining body temperature, keeping body clean and well groomed, avoiding dangers in the environment, communication, worship according to one’s faith, work accomplishments, play or participate in various forms of recreation, and learn, discover, or satisfy the curiosity (Fernandes et al., 2015). Her division of the fourteen components acknowledged patient needs with a holistic approach that is applied through the nursing process in a clinical setting.

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.

Those two theories are Florence Nightingale’s theory of the important of the environment and Katharine Kolcaba’s theory of comfort. Both of these theories are lacking in the emergency room because of the lack a therapeutic environment for these patients. The goal for most emergency room physician is to keep the patient safe until the patient can be moved to an inpatient pscyharitic unit (Nicks & Manthey, 2012, p. 2). By the physicians having this mentality, it does not allow the patient to start his or her healing process in the emergency room while the patient is boarding waiting for an inpatient bed to become available. With the implementation of both of the nursing theories mentioned above this writer believes that it will change the environment that the patient is in and will teach the physicians to start to treat these patients and in turn, it will provide the patients with the quality care that he or she

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

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 was born in Florence, Italy. Her parents named her after the city she was born in. She was born on May 12,1980, she was raised mostly in Derbyshire England. Many people when they hear Florence Nightingale think about her as a nurse and for her fight for better hospital care. Florence did a lot more in her life than achieve better hospital conditions, and become a nurse. She was a brilliant mathematician, and used statistics to apply them to achieve her reforms. Florence was a well-educated woman in a number of fields other than math;

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

Selanders, 2010 (as cited in Rahim, 2013) concluded that, “Environment is the umbrella concept in the Nightingale theory of nursing. It was her contention that the environment could be altered in such a manner as to improve conditions so that the natural laws would allow healing to occur”. The five environmental components identified by Nightingale, which are necessary to a person’s health, are: clean air, pure water, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and light. These five components are further divided into the following canons: ventilation and warming, health of

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.

Florence Nightingale developed the environmental model theory of nursing. Nery, (2015) states that Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory of nursing, “focus primarily on the environment, interpreted as all external conditions and influences that affect the life and development of an organism, that are able to prevent, suppress or contribute to disease and death.” The four metaparadigm concepts of this theory consist of person, environment, nursing, and health. Within this theory, the patient is being cared for by the nurse, has been influenced by the environment, and has reparative powers (“Nursing Theories, 2011). Nightingale’s theory does not have a clear definition of the person; however, it can be inferred that the person correlates “in relation to the environment and the impact of the environment on the person’s health status” (Butts & Rich, 2018). The highlight of Nightingale’s theory is the environment. Both the external and internal environment needs to be in sanitary conditions. The environment concept of this theory contains “physical, psychological, and social” factors (“Nursing Theories, 2011). The goal of the nurse is the control the patient’s environment to achieve ideal health for the patient. Nightingale’s theory did not define health; however, she stated that nature itself can heal ailments (Butts & Rich, 2018). Nightingale (1859) stated that health is ‘not only to be well, but able to use well every power we have to use it.”

Florence Nightingale, a well-educated nurse, was recruited along with 38 other nurses for service in a hospital called Scutari during the Crimean War in 1854 . It was Nightingale's approaches to nursing that produced amazing results. Florence Nightingale was responsible for crucial changes in hospital protocol, a new view on the capabilities and potential of women, and the creation of a model of standards that all future nurses could aspire towards.

Nursing has made much advancement since Nightingale Environmental Theory but the focus on a healthy environment has remained the same. Pulliam (1997) noted in her article that Nightingales’ theory formed a solid foundation for nursing: fresh air, cleanliness, clean water, warmth, proper drainage, plenty of light, and stress free environment provided an optimum environment for healing.