Fundamentals of Nursing Lecture

Group 2E
(FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE)

A. INTRODUCTION

A woman's dedication, conviction, and profound vision elevated nursing from the status of a
domestic service to the status of a profession. She appeared to be a goddess with a lamp, sent from heaven
to those on the verge of death, and they dubbed her, "The Lady with the Lamp." This woman was born in
a wealthy family with a life of luxury is Florence Nightingale, who dedicated here entire life to serve
human kind. Her untiring effort to develop nursing as an essential and educative component has made the
nursing profession deep-rooted on the solid foundation even today.

Florence Nightingale was born on 12th May 1820, in the Italian city of Florence, whilst her
parents were on a tour of Europe. They decided to give her the name of the city. It was rare for girls of
rich families such as hers, to go to school as they were not expected to work or have a career. The
expectation was for girls to marry into another wealthy family. However, Florence was taught at home by
her father and was excellent at mathematics

By the time Florence was 16 years old, and Queen Victoria had been on the throne for just one
year she became convinced that God wanted her to serve him in a very special way. A few years later she
decided that nursing would be the path for her to respond to this belief. Her parents were horrified
because nursing was usually undertaken by girls from poor families However, in 1851 she went a bead
and after training for just three months as a nurse, she Immediately found her skills useful in caring for
her then ailing parents.

In 1854, she was asked to gather together a group of nurses who would be willing to travel to care
for the wounded soldiers of the Crimean war. The army hospital barracks were in Scutari, on the edge of
the Black Sea, near to Istanbul. Injured soldiers, who were ferried across from the Crimea warzone on the
other side of the Black Sea were not expected to survive, but their conditions were worsened even further
by the squalid conditions on board the ships. Florence was appalled by the state of the wards were
overcrowded and men and beds were totally flea-ridden. There was no suitable bed linen and the floors
were filthy The drains were blocked and rats were seen to be scurrying around the wards. Realizing that
these environmental conditions themselves were causing many men to die from fever and infectious
diseases such as cholera, diarrhea dysentery, and scurvy. She immediately organized changes. She also
provided what we would now consider to be essential basic nursing by ensuring the men were well fed,
and had clean sheets and bandages

At night, she was a well-loved figure as she passed quietly through the darkened wards checking
her patients. Because of this, the soldiers soon named her The lady with the lamp.

After the war, Florence established the Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London. Here,
she began to train other nurses and share her method of caring This method became known as Florence
Nightingale's Environmental Theory It included the view that certain environmental conditions, such as
cleanliness of the patient and the hospital fresh air, clean water and suitable food, are basic requirements
in nursing. These practices created many of the principles still followed by the nursing profession today.
 It is a sad fact however, that probably because of the lack of modem antibiotics and an aesthetics
at that time, even the major changes introduced by Florence Nightingale and her nurses, did not save
everyone. Infectious diseases were still the major causes of death to soldiers in the Crimean War. It was
estimated that 16,000 British soldiers died from illness in comparison to 5000 from battle wounds.

B. THEORY:

Florence Nightingale is the most recognized name in the field of nursing. She developed the
Environmental Theory which changed the face of nursing by creating sanitary conditions for patients to
get care. Her work was instrumental in developing modern nursing practice, and from her first shift, she
worked to ensure patients in her care had what they needed to get healthy. Nightingale’s theory promotes
the utilization of the environment of the patient to help him or her achieve full recovery or wellness. The
reason for this, according to Nightingale, is that one’s own environment have a substantial impact on
one’s own health whether that be positive or negative.

Essentially, the purpose of Nightingale’s Environmental Theory is to teach nurses to determine

and provide the suitable environment for their specific patient in order to achieve full recovery. The
reason the patient’s environment is important is because it can affect his or her health in a positive or
negative way. Some environmental factors affecting health according to Nightingale’s theory are fresh
air, pure water, sufficient food and appropriate nutrition, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and light or direct
sunlight. If any of these factors is lacking, it can delay the patient’s recovery. Nightingale also
emphasized providing a quiet, warm environment for patients to recover in. The theory also calls for
nurses to assess a patient’s dietary needs, document food intake times, and evaluate how the patient’s diet
affects his or her health and recovery.

C. CONCLUSION:

Florence Nightingale was a legend in her lifetime and was one of the greatest pioneer's in nursing.
She lived ninety years and accomplished many great things for the field of nursing. Her descriptions of
nursing, health, environment, and humankind are remarkable and still true to this day. Nightingale
reformed nursing and changed the way nursing was viewed. Some of the issues during Nightingale's
time, the 1800's, we still face today and still has an effect on nursing today.

Furthermore, she was instrumental in influencing nursing and society by opening the door for
women to practice as nurses, promoting nurse education, guiding evidence based practice through her
research and observations, by being a human rights advocate, and by working tirelessly to improve the
health and quality of life for people throughout many nations. Her Environmental Theory of Nursing is a
patient-care theory which focuses on altering the patient’s environment to affect change in his or her
health. Caring for the patient is of more importance than the nursing process, the relationship between
patient and nurse, or the individual nurse. Determining a patient’s environment for recovery based on his
or her condition or disease is still practiced today, such as in patients suffering from tetanus, who need
minimal noise to keep them calm and prevent seizures.
References:

Florence Nightingale. (2019, September 18). Nursing Theory. Retrieved from

https://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Florence-Nightingale.php

Nurseslabs. (2023, January 11). Florence Nightingale's Biography and Environmental Theory: Study
Guide. Retrieved from https://nurseslabs.com/florence-nightingales-environmental-theory/