Florence Nightingale: Nursing Theorist and Founder of Modern Nursing

Definition of the Theory 

One of the most popular theories in nursing ever developed was the environmental theory by Florence Nightingale. Many researchers have credited the foundation of modern nursing to Florence Nightingale who was born in the city of Florence in Italy back in 1820. She died in Mayfair, London, in the United Kingdom in 1910 (Smith & Parker, 2015). According to Nightingale, the environment around the patients affects their outcomes, such as in the treatment procedures prescribed to them. Therefore, to improve the quality of the environment around the patients, Nightingale suggested that patients ought to have a temperature-controlled environment with clean air; the medical practitioners should avoid subjecting them to direct sunlight and unnecessary noise and especially when they are sleeping. To further enhance the environment around the patients, their rooms should be kept clean, and the facilities at the hospital well-constructed (Smith & Parker, 2015). Florence Nightingale further stressed that the beddings used by the patients should be changed and aired frequently. A more in-depth insight at the highlighting of a conducive environment for the patients by Nightingale indicates that she mostly advocated for a clean environment that was likely to be a factor that quickened the healing process of the patients (Smith & Parker, 2015). Nightingale additionally stated that the patients needed to be kept clean in their environment and the nurses taking care of them to wash their hands from time to time. The environmental theory by Florence Nightingale has continued to be practiced in healthcare institutions to this date. 

Theorist's Major Assumptions 

Florence Nightingale made use of a few assumptions in her environmental theory. Firstly, the environmental theory assumes that a healthy environment is essential for healing. She advocated for the transformation of the environment around a patient to be healthy, as she believed that patients benefited from quick healing that the healthy environment provided (Smith & Parker, 2015). Nightingale insisted that nature cures by its own and therefore healthiness could speed up the process of healing. Secondly, the environmental theory assumes that five points are critical in achieving a house full of health. The five points are pure water, cleanliness, pure air, efficient drainage, and light. With Nightingale insisting that the patients should have their rooms' temperature controlled and with clean air, she developed the assumption that pure air is crucial for healing (Smith & Parker, 2015). Their access to light for healing had to be indirect light at the direct light from the sun may interfere with the healing process. Thirdly, the environmental theory assumes that nursing is an art while the medicine is a science. According to the model, the nurses are expected to be loyal to the medical plan outlined in the healthcare institutions but are not expected to appear enslaved (Smith & Parker, 2015). Lastly, the environmental approach by Florence Nightingale assumes that the nurses have to make accurate observations of their patients and be in a good position to report the state of the patient to the physician in charge of them in a manner regarded to be orderly. 

Theorist's Metaparadigms 

Theories Definition of Nursing 

One of the definitions of nursing, according to Florence Nightingale, is that nursing has to do with the putting of the patients in the best health condition for nature to act upon him or her. From the definition, Nightingale appears to suggest that the nurses are majorly supposed to be concerned with the patient care and should thus provide the best quality of it as part of the factors that catalyze the healing process. Nightingale further went deeper into her definition of nursing by affirming that a nurse ought to enable the proper use of light, fresh air, warmth, quietness, cleanliness and the appropriate selection and administration of the proper diet (Polit et al., 2017). The factors mentioned above are all supposed to be accorded to the patient who is undergoing the recovery process. According to Nightingale, nursing is supposed to provide means of reducing boredom among the patients to induce their healing. Nurses can do so by offering a variety of scenery, such as flowers and new books to prevent boredom among their patients. The definition of nursing and its link to patient care also goes ahead to the statement that the nurses need to be positive and avoid offering false hope to the patients regarding their recovery or make their illnesses appear like not much of a big deal (Polit et al., 2017). The link between nursing and healing, according to Nightingale, was further strengthened by avoiding considering the individual patient only but by focusing on where he or she lives. 

Theorist's Definition of Person 

Florence Nightingale, in her environmental model, lacks a direct definition of a person or human being but associates the definition with their context in the environment. According to the explanations given in the environmental theory, the perspective of the person-in-environment is a principle that guides the practice and necessity of understanding a human being and the behavior of the individual in the light of the environment (Polit et al., 2017). According to Florence nightingale's environmental theory, people are considered multidimensional. Human beings have different views on healing, environment, and patient care. The nurses have to take into account the various dimensions that human beings approach patient care with and make sure that they are all fulfilled by offering complete high-quality medical care. Human beings, according to the environmental model, are composed of biological, psychological, spiritual, and social components. The diversity in the patient care provided by the nurses is by itself, not a hundred percent beneficial to the healing process. The nurses have to actively practice their art to ensure that they take care of the various components of human beings under their care as patients (Polit et al., 2017). The nurses are therefore supposed to understand the dimensions of the patients as well as the components they identify with in a bid to promote the quality care that defines a human being according to the environmental approach given by Florence Nightingale. 

Theorist's Definition of Environment 

The environmental theory of Florence Nightingale is primarily focused on the surroundings that contribute to the healing of a patient at a healthcare institution. The definition of the environment by the environmental model points to the physical surroundings that Florence Nightingale stresses in her approach. According to her writings on the theory, Nightingale talks of a community health model which states that all the factors within the surroundings of the human beings have a significant effect on their wellbeing as well as recovery from a particular disease (Kitson & Muntlin Athlin, 2013). Therefore, the theory weighs the contribution of the environment concerning the state of health of the patient. Florence Nightingale highlights the various aspects of the environment that relate to the recovery of a patient from a particular disease. In other words, Nightingale insisted that the poor environments lead to the diseases and poor health, which can be seen in the healthcare institutions across the globe as they approach health and healing with the association with a conducive environment (Kitson & Muntlin Athlin, 2013). To add more on the definition of environment, the nurses are supposed to ensure that they facilitate the recovery of the patients by providing them with the best surroundings that foster the acceleration of their healing process. The teachings of Nightingale regarding the environment prove that the surroundings of a patient can be altered to make the conditions more favorable for the natural laws to lead to the healing of the patient. 

Theorist's Definition of Health 

Florence Nightingale also defined health as one of the metaparadigms of her environmental theory. According to her, health is more than just being well and encompasses the concept of the ability to use every power that human beings possess. The definition of health by Nightingale extends to the definition of the disease, which is considered as the absence of ease and comfort (Kitson & Muntlin Athlin, 2013). In as much as Nightingale did not define health specifically, most of her teachings concerning the role of the environment in the healing of patients can apply to define health. In the environmental approach of Florence Nightingale, she stated that the medical practitioners know nothing of health apart from the experience and observations. Her definition of the art of nursing suggests that the nurses' primary function is to undo what God has made disease. The primary goal of nursing is, therefore meant to be the health of the patients. In her environmental model, Florence Nightingale believed that nursing ought to provide quality care to the healthy as well as the sick. She urged nurses to promote health as their main activity (Kitson & Muntlin Athlin, 2013). In line with Nightingale's association of health with the environment, the health of the houses contributes to the wellbeing of the individuals. The poorly constructed houses affect healthy people as much as the poorly constructed hospitals imply those who are ailing. Florence Nightingale associated health with the environment by giving an example of poor ventilation being known to lead to the sicknesses. 

Implementation of the Environmental Theory as a Guiding Framework 

The application of the environmental theory clinically is evident. The care for the patients living with HIV/AIDS evidences much of the environmental model by Florence Nightingale. Since Nightingale insists on the improvement of the environment and sanitation to achieve the full recovery of the patients, the medical caregivers consider factors such as efficient drainage, light, pure water, and cleanliness, among other aspects, as they care for the people living with HIV/AIDS (Kitson & Muntlin Athlin, 2013). Viewing healthcare through the lens of Nightingale's environmental model, an inmate who has a terminal illness can be catered for by the control of the environment and the alterations that can be managed or changed to better the unhealthy conditions in the correctional facility. The inmate has to be provided with the conducive environment that will increase his or her ability to recover from the illness or suppress it in the case of HIV/AIDS. According to the theory, the patient-caregiver taking care of a patient who has been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS has to take care of the social, spiritual, psychological, and biological components of the patient's life (Kitson & Muntlin Athlin, 2013). The medical practitioner, such as the nurse, in this case, has to realize that he or she has a direct impact on the components on the patients' side. The nurses alter the biological factors that play a role in the activation of the innate response of the immunity. The monitoring of the administration of medicine and compliance will help in the avoidance of dosing errors and the issue of the noncompliance of patients. 

Theory's Usefulness in the Real World 

The environmental approach of Florence Nightingale is useful in the real world in many perspectives. The theory focuses on the critical components of the theory and their use to the real world. The components are; fresh air, efficient drainage, pure water, cleanliness, and light (Polit et al., 2017). The essential components mentioned above have been regarded as the crucial components of adequate patient care that are drawn from the environmental model of Florence Nightingale. Nightingale is considered as the pioneer theorist in nursing (Polit et al., 2017). The model supports sanitary practices that are the core of patient care, and when they are followed, health is sustained, and the patients that are affected are healed quicker with the consideration of the practices. The theory in the real-world application has also stressed on the consideration of the various components of the patients' lives, such as their psychological wellbeing. The psychological stressors that are found in the surroundings of a patient may reduce their ability to heal quickly (Shariff, 2014). The real-world nurses are fully aware of the same and work with the patients to provide them with a surrounding that is free from psychological triggers. The application of the theory to the efforts that increase the nutrition of the patients is also crucial to the real-world. The nurses are always urged to provide the patients with adequate nutrients through the small servings of food that they provide. The nutrition advocated for by the environmental model increase the condition of the patients and the continuity of care. 

The Relevance of the Environmental Theory to Nursing Today 

Today's nursing draws various concepts from the environmental theory by Florence Nightingale. Her view of nursing is an art that focuses on the in-depth knowledge of their patients, even more than the doctors are. According to the teachings of Nightingale, nursing as a practice is more about facilitating medical care than the medical care itself (DeGuzman & Kulbok, 2012). From Nightingale's perspective, nurses need to be informed and educated regarding patient care practices. However, the nurses have to focus their attention on making treatment for their patients. The relevance of Nightingale's environmental theory extends to the provision of a suitable environment that is required for the quick healing of the patients. As she affirmed that nature alone cures, Nightingale focused on the importance of a healthy environment and its contribution to the healing of individuals. The relevance of a conducive environment is evident in today's nursing (DeGuzman & Kulbok, 2012). In the various healthcare institutions across the globe, the value of healthy environment in its contribution towards effective patient care is immense with cleanliness standards being developed to regulate the practice of sanitation, which further leads to the healthiness of the patient's environment, which is a crucial part of the healing process (DeGuzman & Kulbok, 2012). The theory also stresses the importance of the nursing practitioners making accurate observations of their patients and being able to report the state of health of the patients in a manner that is orderly to the physicians. The practice is relevant to the present state of nursing. 

References 

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Kitson, A. L., & Muntlin Athlin, Å. (2013). Development and Preliminary Testing Of A 

Framework to Evaluate Patients' Experiences of the Fundamentals of Care: A Secondary Analysis of Three Stroke Survivor Narratives. Nursing Research and Practice , 2013 . 

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& Bergsten, U. (2017, June). European Academy of Nursing Science and the Swedish Society of Nursing Summer Conference 2017: The Future Direction of European Nursing and Nursing Research. In BMC nursing (Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 32). BioMed Central. 

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Participation in Health Policy Development. BMC Nursing , 13 (1), 20. 

Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.