Nightingale’s Environmental Theory of nursing is considered the building block of other perspectives in the discipline. The theorist was indeed the first one to practice nursing during the war era when he took care of the patients and victims (Dinc et al., 2013). Upon carrying out a critique of the theory, it comes out clear that it has both strengths and weaknesses. First, the provisions of Nightingale are holistic in the view of nursing which emphasizes on the interpersonal relationship between the patient and the caregiver. According to Stichler (2014), the theory also focuses on the importance of data collection through observation, which later became the building block for the evidence-based practice. Nightingale considered was keen on the manipulation of the environment to give the patient a healing course due to the hygienic concerns that are exhibited in a dirty surrounding.
Nightingale’s insights led to the development of nursing education and curriculum in the whole world, and the theory is so wholesome that it continues to apply even today (Shetty, 2016). The limitation of the approach is that it only believes that an illness is caused through dirty and under-ventilated rooms, meaning they occur through miasmas. It is a wrong line of thought as it is known that there are other major causes of diseases. Also, the theory does not provide for the procedures to care for the patient who needs extreme care, making the nurses undergo psychological drainage which affects their patients.
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The theory its own right is a grand guidance on nursing but needs some additions or development. However, this does not mean that the theory is disregarded or changed, but what should be added is the aspect of other factors leading to illnesses. The environment alone cannot cause the ailments, as there are bacteria and viruses. Also, the theory should provide guidelines on how to care for the acute care patients, as they are a common occurrence now. On the bright side, the Environmental Theory is still and will continue to be the foundation guide on the teachings of both professional and technical nursing which warrants Florence Nightingale the name “The Queen of Nurses (Shetty, 2016)”.
References
Dinc, G., Naderi, S., & Kanpolat, Y. (2013). Florence Nightingale: Light to Illuminate the World from the Woman with the Lantern. World Neurosurgery, 79(1), 198-206. doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2012.11.005
Shetty, A. (2016). Florence Nightingale: The queen of nurses. Archives Of Medicine And Health Sciences, (1)
Stichler, J. F. (2014). An Ode to Florence. Health Environments Research & Design Journal (HERD) (Vendome Group LLC), 7(4), 13-18.
