Research Paper
on
Florence Nightingale Theory of Positive
Manipulation of the Environment
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 INTRODUCTION OF THE THEORIST:
“Nursing has evolved as a scientific discipline and is emerging into
professional status. From Florence Nightingale's direct bedside patient care to
its present multifaceted roles, nursing has changed significantly in its scope
of practice, responsibilities and functions”
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The name of Florence Nightingale cannot be forgotten as she was considered as
the pioneers in the nursing profession .She has contributed a lot in the field
of nursing and her works are considered as the assets ,these works will be
remembered for many years. Florence Nightingale was born in the year 1820 and
died in 1910.The history shows that she lived through an era of conflict and
change. The main contribution of Florence is that she has defined Nursing in its
correct form. She had developed the correct and concise meaning of nursing. That
is she has described what nursing is and what nursing is not. She believed that
nursing involves Environmental Manipulation, Nutrition, and Conservation of
Patient Energy., all these aspects were initially included in nursing .And the
literal meaning of nursing was in one way or the another connected all these
aspects.
The principles which have been defined by Florence Nightingale depicts that
nursing is basically connected with reforms.
In order to cover all those aspects which have been mentioned earlier nursing
should be actively involved in change and progress, all this comes under
reforms. The reforms can be: Sanitary reform, architectural and administrative
reform, scientific methodology and educational reforms, and public health reform
and political action.
According to Nightingale all these concepts were considered as the basics of
nursing. The main behind this was that all these aspects are concerned with the
wellness and health of the individual. This quotation can best described the
services which the nurses provide “Nursing is both "the lady with the lamp"
comforting the wounded soldier and the lady that fights the political forces and
the administrative systems that land the soldier in the squalid conditions that
cause and perpetuate his wounds and illness”.
Nurses are those professionals which have the idea to prevent the health of an
individual. Nurses are trained in such a manner that they serve the human beings
by providing comfort to those who are mentally or physically weak. Florence
designed and trained nurses to fulfill these criteria. The efforts made by
Florence were related to make the nursing profession a respectable profession
for women’s.
The biography of Florence depicts that she had an instinct and a natural desire
to work for the humanity, she wanted to serve the humanity .This task provided
her immense satisfaction. Nightingale was basically involved in those tasks
which will promote a good health care system. She felt the need to derive the
attention of the people towards preventive medicine and promotion of healthy
care system .She thought without these aspects a good health care system would
not be developed. She also insisted that good nutrition and proper housing
facilities are also essential for maintenance of proper health.
Florence Nightingales life was full of efforts and hard work. She was a lady
with a lot of qualities, she also showed her will power when she suffered a
mental and a physical collapse in the year 1937.During those critical times she
showed great amount of power and firm believe. During those times she continued
working for the social reforms. Florence nightingale is such a name which will
be remembered as long as this world is existing. Her works made her a
controversial figure.
The incidence which is mostly remembered in reference to the services of
Florence Nightingale is the leadership of Florence Nightingale after the war,
after her death her biographers called her “lady with the lamp”. The readings on
Florence Nightingale will depict that she was a great social activist. She was
continuously involved in the services to help and nurture mankind. She possessed
a heart of an angel. Nightingales activities were related to her belief that one
should try to help humanity in order to be near to the God. She really loved her
God and all her writings were related to this topic. As stated by Nightingale
"It is not, God will not punish, we shall therefore not surely die. It is, God
loves us, and therefore why will we die? One says that God is careless, the
other that He is loving." In an unpublished sermon she insisted on God's "real
personal interest in our welfare," not just His "mercy generally." It was hard
to believe this, she acknowledged, "But if this belief once takes possession of
our hearts, then are we redeemed indeed."
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Her idea was that God has made us and he also loves us .The greatness of God
cannot be measured. She was mainly involved in the social activities because she
thought that this act of kindness made by her might take her near to the God.
All her sayings were in one way or another connected to the greatness of god.
She was a person with great feeling spirituality in her. This spirituality took
her to the heights of success and eventually she became a known figure due to
her services which she performed for the entire humanity.
The history of nursing depicts that it was Florence Nightingale who first
described the definition of nursing and further she also developed the standards
which will be adopted by the nurses. She insisted that nurses should be provided
with those teachings which will help them to dig out the cause and observe the
symptoms of a disease and than evaluate these diseases by the help of their
services. Nightingale also developed many theories for the betterment of
nursing. These theories are studied even now by the women who want to be nurses.
The contribution Of Florence Nightingale in the field of Nursing is innumerable.
The title which is given to her that is “The Pioneer and The lady with the lamp”
posess some backgrounds.
The standards which were developed by Florence are still being used and
implemented. Florence wanted to develop such nurses which will have the
following qualities "The most important practical lesson that can be given to
nurses is to teach them what to observe-how to observe- what symptoms indicate
improvement-what the reverse-which are of importance-which are of none-which are
the evidence of neglect-and of what kind of neglect.... But if you can not get
the habit of observation one way or other, you had better give up being a nurse,
for it is not your calling, however kind and anxious you may be." [F.N]
She regarded health care as Gods work. Therefore she also tried to develop those
standards which will prove beneficial for the entire humanity.
ORIGIN OF NURSING THEORIES:
Gradually as the profession of nursing became popular then simultaneously
theories were also designed by the health care authorities, these theories were
related to the nursing standards and gave new distinguished concepts of nursing.
There are many theories which can be identified in this context but, in this
paper the theory of Florence Nightingale will be the central point of
discussion.
The nursing theories are numerous and can be studied thoroughly these theories
were designed and implemented by many nursing schools. The periods of these
theories differentiates from one another.
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE’S THEORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANIPULATION:
This theory is a major contribution made by Florence Nightingale. It has
relative importance in the field of nursing. As it has been observed earlier in
this paper that Florence thought that Environment really counts and is very
important for good health. Therefore, she included it in the aspects of nursing.
With this reference she developed her theory of environmental manipulation in
the year 1850.This theory was a great addition in the nursing theories. This
theory laid emphasis on the environment and the affects of the environment. She
wanted to develop such measures which will help to keep the environment as clean
as possible.
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CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THE THEORY:
These paper further moves on to mention the aspects of the theory which are
criticized by the Nursing theory critique.
“I would like to add that the positive manipulation of the environment I used
was massage, warm bath, (Nightingale’s theory of hygiene), and aromatherapy. I
scented the patient's room and linens with lavender linen spray and air
freshener.”
This theory is in reference to Environmental Manipulation of Blood pressure In
the Preeclamptic Patient as the quotation states that the positive manipulation
of the environment which was used for this a patient included massage, warm bath
and aromatherapy.
The nursing theorists have critically observed the weaknesses of this theory as
such:
- The foundation of Nightingales theory is those external elements which affects
the sick person. The critics say that it is not only the external factors by
which the health of a patient is affected but the other factors are also
involved to affect the health of sick person. Those factors might be enormously
contributed towards the health of such a patient. As it was stated in the
nightingale’s theory of hygiene that aromatherapy was used and the patient was
given warm bath. All these factors are external factors which might make the
health of such a patient better or might deteriorate his health.
- The specific elements which are included in the theory are air, light,
protection from upsetting news and diet of such a patient. Although all these
factors which are discussed in this theory are of vital importance but,
sometimes the situation becomes in favorable for the patient and the patient
might suffer from the disease. If he/she would listen to unfavorable news, then
the situation will become worse. A part from such weaknesses this theory is a
complete theory which have discussed the aspects of environment and the affect
of the environment on such patients which suffer from blood pressure.
UTILITY OF THE THEORY:
“Florence Nightingale can boast at least two firsts among her achievements - not
only was she the first to found training schools for nurses, she was also the
first woman elected fellow of the Statistical Society because of her
contribution to army statistics.” Florence Nightingales theory is of relative
importance in the field of nursing and has also proved beneficial for many
patients. This theory is basically concerned with the health of the patient.
This theory has made the points to support the topic that environment do have an
affect on sick patients therefore, care should be taken as much as possible to
keep the environment clean and hygienic.
Florence theory relates to her idea that she wanted the environment to be free
of diseases and germs; she wanted to develop those standards which would help to
keep the environment as clean as possible. She wanted that the lives of all the
human beings should be happy and successful. The can only happen if a person is
healthy. Her works and her theories mostly related to the health aspect of the
individuals. She wanted to evolve an environment which will be free of diseases.
This theory of environmental manipulation is being implemented by the nurses
across the world and is considered as a standard in nursing. Her theory is such
that it will help a patient to regain his powers and maximize his energies up to
the fullest. She wrote her works on the aspect that how the nurses can help to
improve the morale of patient lying in a bed. According to her the nurses should
treat the patients as such that a hope can be developed in their minds.
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Discussing about this theory it can be said that this theory is still being
taught in the nursing schools and also being implemented by the nurses. Her
believe was that this theory would help to control those external factors which
will affect the patient. She mentioned those vital factors and tried to convince
the reader that these factors do have a great affect on the sick patient. The
utility of this theory can be measured by the fact that after the implementation
of this theory a considerable difference was seen in the rate of patients as the
patients were treated according to the rules and standards of this theory.
Researches show that implication of this theory is still going on and the
patients are being benefited by the treatment which they get. The utility of
this theory can be judged by the fact that many years have passed but still this
theory is taught in the nursing schools. The contribution of Florence
Nightingale are innumerable and all are advantageous in one way ore the other.
As she devised all her methodologies and theories with the belief that illness
is a reparative process by nature, it is a period of test.
Florence theory of environmental manipulation is amongst those nursing theories
which have been evolved by the other theorists on environment. But this theory
stands out amongst all those theories .The biography of Florence depicts that
she made her writings mostly on environmental control as she thought that
prevention of many diseases can be done via environmental control. She called
such methodologies as health nursing and during her entire life she wrote many
things on this topic.
Testability and Logical Adequacy of the Theory of Florence Nightingale
The theory of Florence Nightingale is a great contributor in the field of
nursing and this theory has opened many options for the other theorists to
writer their works on this issue. This theory was able to derive the attention
of the health care providers on the issue of environmental control.
Testability and reliability of this theory can be checked after the observation
of the implication and application of this theory. Researches show that after
the evolution of this theory many patients were cured according to the standards
set out in this theory and eventually these strategies proved advantageous for
the nurses.
CONCUSION:
"I use the word nursing for want of a better. It has been limited to signify
little more than the administration of medicines and the application of
poultices. It ought to signify the proper use of fresh air, light, warmth,
cleanliness, quiet, and the proper selection and administration of diet -all at
the least expense of vital power to the patient." [F.N]
The name of Florence Nightingale will always be remembered especially with
reference to the field of nursing. As she was a lady who had the feeling of
helping the humanity, she worked as a social activist because she gained
satisfaction by doing all these activities. She was a firm believer and had firm
belief in God. As her statement depicts that she wanted to develop nursing as a
profession which will be suitable for the women. She has not limited the field
of nursing just for the administration of medicines but nursing according to her
was a very respectable profession for women and this profession should include
those aspects which will be beneficial for the health of the humanity.
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Amongst these factors she included all environmental aspect such as air, water,
light and hygiene. According to her a man should utilize all his energies until
he dies. He should take use of all his capabilities .Florence efforts widened
the scope of nursing profession and included all those factors which were
essential for a good health care system. In this aspect Florence developed many
theories which is and will be advantageous for the nurses across the world.
The theory of environmental manipulation given by Florence is a theory of
distinctive nature; it has included all those aspects of environment which can
affect the health of a patient. According to her these environmental aspects
should be controlled and the environment should be kept as hygienic as possible
to control the health of the patient. Disturbing environment will deteriorate
the health of the patient further. The theory is of immense importance and is
evolved as a standard in the nursing field. Therefore, it is being taught in the
nursing schools. After the evolution of this theory many other theorists also
contributed their writings and they also mentioned certain aspects of
environmental control.
Florence Nightingales achievements cannot be forgotten as her achievements are
uncountable...Florence also had great difficulty in adopting the profession of
nursing as can be depicted by the information “Although she was conscious of her
calling at an early age, she found it difficult to break from her social circle
and pursue a nursing career” This information depicts that she had a lot of
problem before she decided to become a nurse. But eventually she broke all the
circles and adopted nursing as her profession. After getting into the nursing
profession she developed standards for this profession and also broadened the
scope of nursing she gave a new definition of nursing with innumerable aspects
in it.
It was all due to the efforts of Florence that nursing has become respectable
profession in the present era and will be respected always. A Florence
nightingale theory of environmental, manipulation defines those concepts which
are involved in the environment and which badly affects the environment as well
as the health of the patient. Therefore the theory suggests that the environment
should be kept clean and hygienic for the safety of the patient. The room should
be scented to give the patient a pleasant feeling. Moreover all those aspects
which will have a bad affect on the health of the patient should be eradicated.
These activities should be done basically to provide the patient a healthy
environment where in he can be treated properly and can get better as soon s
possible. All these information which have been provided in this paper are
related to the works of Florence nightingale, her theories and her background.
All her writings and works show that she was a lady of ambition and did all
those things by which she got satisfaction. Discussing the theory of
environmental manipulation it can be said such theory has directed the attention
of the theorists towards very important issue that is health care and how can
health be prevented by control environmental aspects.
“Florence Nightingale has now been dead for 90 years, the same length of time
she was on this earth. During that time, people who have written biographies of
her are largely responsible for the way we see her and the values that we
ascribe to her. Biographies of Florence Nightingale will always reflect the
prejudices of the author and may describe apparently different women even though
they stick to the truth. These prejudices are particularly evident in the work
of her 20th century biographers.”
The life of Florence Nightingale is better understood when the biography of her
life will be read throuoghly. Researches show that although Florence is not
amongst us but her contributions and achievements will be remembered forever.
Numerous writers have tried to write a biography and have achieved popularity by
the publication of their books. As the readers are attracted by the personality
of Florence Nightingale.
In the end it can be said that the theory of environmental manipulation which
ahs been given by Florence is of vital importance and will be practiced and
implemented by the nurses. According to this theory the nurses try to keep the
environment of the patient clean and hygienic .The environment is kept free of
germs so that the health of the patient cannot be affected. This theory is
mainly in reference to the environmental manipulation of the blood pressure
patients. In fact it can be said that the ideas which re presented by Florence
are hundred percent advantageous fore the health of the patients .But the
nursing theory critics has also evolved certain flaws in this theory. Despite of
the flaws this theory is considered very important in the field of nursing and
is taught in the nursing schools.
References
BOOKS:
Huxley, E. (1975). Florence Nightingale, illustrated portrayal of the founder of
modern nursing. New York: Putman.
Nightingale, F. (1946). Notes on nursing: What it is and what it is not.
Norwalk, CT: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Nightingale, F. (1954). Selected writings. New York: MacMillan.
Nightingale, F. (1970). Florence Nightingale at Harley Street: Her reports to
the governor. London: Dent.
Nightingale, F. (1974). Letters of Florence Nightingale in the history of
nursing archives. Boston University, Mugar Memorial Library.
Nightingale, F. (1979). Cassandra: An essay. Old Westbury, NY: Femenist Press.
Nightingale, F. (1987). "I have done my duty"; Florence Nightingale in the
Crimean War. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
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