Florence Nightingale Biography

Born in Florence, Italy on May 12, 1820.

Belong in a upper-middle class family.

Her father William Edward Nightingale is a wealthy landowner .

 At the age of 16 she had an interest in philanthropy, ministering to the ill, knew her calling
was nursing
 Religious inspiration called her to focus on  the health of the masses.
 A call from God last February 1837 while at Embley Park.

 1851- finished her nursing training at Germany.

 1860- published Notes on Nursing
 Mother of Modern Nursing
 First Nursing Theorist
 First Nurse Educator.
 She was a linguist, educated in science, mathematics, literature and arts.

 The Lady with the Lamp

 Excellent writer
 Expert Statistician using bar and pie
  August 13 1910- She died peacefully at the age of 90 in South Street Park, London.


Unrelenting care given to the soldiers of Crimean War.
 Royal Red Cross by Queen Victoria 1883
 Order of Merit 1907
 2ND Famous British Person
 “Lady with the Lamp”
 Famous Nurse During Crimean War
 Her Birthday marks as International Nurses Day)”
 Badge of Honour of the Red Cross Society 1910

Overview of the Theory

 Nightingale's theory was the first published nursing theory in 1860.

 Nightingale viewed the manipulation of the physical environment as a major component of
nursing care.
 Nightingale explained this theory in her book, Notes on Nursing: What it is, what it is Not. 
 Theory goal: nurses helps patients retain their own vitality by meeting their basic need
through the control of the environment.
 Nursing focus: control of the environment for individuals, families, and the community.
1. Ventilation and Warmth

 Check the patient's body temperature, room temperature, ventilation and foul odors.
 Create a plan to keep the room well ventilated and free from odor while maintaining the
patient’s body temperature.
 2. Light
Check room for adequate light(sunlight is beneficial to the patient).

3. Cleanliness
 Check room for dust, dampness and dirt.
4. Health of Houses
Check surrounding environment for fresh air, pure water, drainage, cleanliness and light.

5. Noise

Check surrounding environment for fresh air, pure water, drainage, cleanliness and light
. 6. Bed and Beddings
 Check the bed and bedding for dampness, 
wrinkles and soiling
 Keep the bed dry , wrinkle free, and lowest height 
to ensure comfort.
7. Personal Cleanliness
 Attempt to keep the patient dry and clean.
 Frequents assessment of the patient’s skin is essential to maintain good skin integrity.
8. Variety
 Attempt to accomplish variety in the room with the client.
 Done with cards, flowers, pictures, and books.
  Encourage friends to do stimulating activities.

9. Chattering hopes and Advices

 Avoid talking without a giving advice that is without facts.

10. Taking Foods

 Check the diet of the patient. Note the amount of food and fluid ingested by the patient
every meal.
11. Petty Management
 Ensure continuity of care.
 Document the plan of care and evaluate the outcomes of ensure continuity.
12. Observation of the Sick
 Observe and record anything about the patient.
 5 Essential Components of a Environmental Health

(The absence of one produced lack of health or sickness)

1.) Pure Air
2.) Pure Water
3.) Efficient Drainage
4.) Cleanliness
5.) Light

1 .) Pure Air
 Source of disease and recovery.
 “To keep the air he breathes as pure as the external air without chilling him.”( Nightingale
1969, p.12)
2.) Light
 Direct sunlight is particular need s of patients.
 “Light has a quite as real and tangible effect upon the human body.”( Nightingale, 1969 pp.
84-85)

3.) Cleanliness

   Nightingale notes that the a dirty environment ( floors, carpets, walls and bed linens) was
a source of infections through organic matter is contained.

4.) Effective drainage

 Appropriate handling of  and disposal of  of bodily excretions  and sewage were required to
prevent contamination of the environment.
5.)Pure Water
 She required that nurses also bathe daily, that their clothing  be clean  and they should
wash their hands frequently .(Nightingale 1969)
Added Concepts:

6.)Quite and Diet

 Nurses required to asses the need for quite and to intervene as needed to maintain it.
 She instructed nurses to assess  not only in dietary intake but also the meal schedule and
it’s effect on the patient.
7.) Petty Management
 The nurse was to protect the patient from receipt of upsetting news, seeing visitors who
could negatively affect recovery, and experiencing sudden disruption of sleep.

Metaparadigm of the theory

1.) Person
2.) Environment
3.) Health
4.) Nursing
1.) Person
  Referred as “ Patient”

 Recipient of Nursing Care

  A human being acted upon by a nurse, or affected by the environment,
  Has a reparative power to deal with diseases.
2.) Environment
 Fundamental component of Nightingale’s Theory.
  She believed that sick, poor people could benefit from environmental improvement.
  Can be external or internal as well.
  Poor or difficult environments led to poor health and diseases.
  Everything from the patient’s food, and flowers to the patient’s verbal and non verbal
interactions with the patients.
3.) Health
  “ Health is a well being and using every power that the person has to the full extent in
living life.”
  Diseases- is a reparative process that the nature instituted when a person did not attend
to health concerns.
 Maintenance of health can be done through the prevention of disease by controlling the

environment .
4.) Nursing
  Almost every woman is a nurse.

 Responsible for someone’s health

 Nightingale’s Note on Nursing book provided women with guidelines  for caring for their
loved ones at home and to give advice on how to “ think like a nurse”( Nightingale ,1969 p
4).