Ever heard the name, Florence Nightingale? If not, let us introduce you to the lady who gave the nursing profession a reputable image. She was often called “THE LADY WITH THE LAMP.” She developed nursing education ideas and priorities. She was an early proponent of treatment based on evidence. She acknowledged nurses’ ability to observe, comprehend, and modify health care systems as a blessing. In 1856, she returned to Britain, gaining knowledge from the adventure. In the years that followed, she emphasized hygienic health, solidifying her image as a great leader. She devoted the next 50 years of her life to establishing nursing as a respectable profession. She devised and executed action plans to enhance hygienic conditions and made handwashing, bathing, and other asepsis and infection-control practices mandatory. During the Crimean War, she and her staff used these approaches to cut the mortality rate at their hospital by one-third.’
Environmental theory
Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory is centered on five factors, including clean water and air, basic sanitation, cleanliness, and light since she felt a healthy atmosphere was vital for recovery. Nightingale argued that nursing “should include the right use of fresh air, light, warmth, cleanliness, calm, and the proper selection and administration of nutrition — at the lowest possible cost to the patient’s vital energy.” She remarked on the art of nursing when she said, “The art of nursing, as it is now done, appears to be purposely structured to undo what God created sickness to be, namely a reparative process.” In her work, Nightingale emphasizes the physical surroundings. In her theory, Nightingale’s works represent a community health model in which all aspects of a person’s environment are addressed concerning their state of health.
Theory of nursing
In Florence Nightingale’s view, the nurse’s responsibility is to utilize the patient’s surroundings to aid in their recovery and return to the everyday environment. The patient’s surroundings are significant since they might have a favorable or adverse effect on their health. According to Nightingale’s hypothesis, environmental variables that impact health include fresh air, clean water, adequate food and suitable nutrition, effective drainage, cleanliness, and light or direct sunshine. If any of these characteristics are absent, the patient’s recovery will be slowed. Nightingale also stressed giving patients a calm, comfortable atmosphere to recuperate. The idea also requires nurses to analyze a patient’s nutritional requirements, record food intake timings, and examine how their diet impacts their health and rehabilitation.
To review
The relevance of Florence Nightingale’s contributions to critical thinking in nursing is shown towards the conclusion of this theoretical analysis. Moreover, her theory is vital for bridging the knowledge gaps about the holistic aspect of the nursing process, helping students and nurses make the correct clinical judgments. Nurses must adopt Nightingale’s holistic philosophy and assumptions in nursing since patients need compassionate nurses who are sensitive to the whole spectrum of human needs and their nursing expertise. Nightingale’s legacy helps us achieve these goals since her philosophy encourages self-care, art, and nursing science and encompasses related theory.