Florences Nightingales Legacy of Caring Nursing

NURSING

Nursing: Florence’s Nightingale’s Legacy of Caring and Its Applications

Abstract

It is imperative to look into case examples for further elucidation to understand the relationship between theory, research, and evidence-based practice. Florence Nightingale contributed to healthcare and nursing with her clear philosophy about hygiene and cleanliness in the environment. For maximum health outcomes, the aspects of mind, body, and spirit must be maintained with holistic nursing care with targeted needs of five fundamental elements of her environmental theory. This paper aims to explain a scenario where the application of Nightingale’s environmental theory could be best understood.

Nursing: Florence’s Nightingale’s Legacy of Caring and Its Applications

Care combined with scientific knowledge has its significant benefits anchored in Florence’s Nightingale Legacy of Caring principles. The environmental theory of Florence constituted of five elements: fresh air, clean water, proficient draining, cleanliness and hygiene, and direct sunlight (Gilber, 2020, p. 627). This paper aims to explain a scenario in which the application of Nightingale’s environmental theory would be elucidated. 

In the given case, the nurse could begin her home visit based on environmental theory by considering the five elements:

· Fresh air: The bedroom’s fan was switched off, and the room was quite hot. The windows were closed, and no source of fresh air was there. 

· Clean water: Unclean water is nowhere to be seen; however, half-finished cans of soda could be taken as no existence of clean water. 

· Drainage: The drainage issue is not mentioned in the case, however, disposing of the used cloth diapers could be categorized as one. 

· Cleanliness and hygiene: A cat box full of litter was lying on the floor where the two-year-old Jerry was playing. Formula bottles near the changing table did not provide a source of hygiene for the three-week-old baby; soiled diapers had to be disposed of off to the dustbin and an empty box of wipes. 

· Sunlight: The room is already hot, which means sunlight is causing the temperature to rise; however, direct sunlight access is not there in the room due to closed windows. 

In this situation, the nurse’s priority could be first to open windows, switch on the fan, and then clean the room. Taking partially eaten sandwiches and half-finished soda cans out of the room, changing the litter box, taking used diapers out of the room, and asking Jerry to wash himself up as he was playing on the floor sitting beside the possibly dirty cat who might have used the litter box, taking formula bottles and sanitizing them properly to give clean feeding bottles to the baby whose digestive system might get affected with germs if her bottles are not properly washed. Since the room is the habitat, especially a newborn one, cleanliness needs to be a priority in this case; an unmade bed and taking the cat for a bath could be things that the nurse could do later. 

There are three fundamental ideologies of Florence’s environmental theory: healing, leadership, and global action (Riegel et al., 2021). The nurse’s home visit should understand the healing process since sanitation, and environmental cleanliness would positively contribute to the mother’s, her children’s, and everyone else’s health who lives in the same house. Preventing illness is more crucial than curing it, for which hygiene plays an integral role. The nurse should be a source of guidance to such families as their skills and competencies should be deployed with holistic critical thinking to identify the diverse basic needs of each individual of the population, according to their age.  

The nurse could develop a relationship of trust between Isabel and herself since home-based nursing care thrives in a trusting relationship. Research suggests that trust could be developed through face-to-face or remote encounters using technology (Walivaara, Savenstedt & Axelsson, 2013). The first time the nurse enters Isabel’s home, she should respect the person’s living conditions and guide her to the right living conditions vital for the children’s and her health. Once Isabel knows that the nurse is here for her well-being and that she is here to help her, Isabel would certainly want to get that help. Taking care of two children alone in the house, where putting a three-week-old baby alone is a challenge, makes the mother fatigued. Isabel would be seeking help in such a tiresome environment when the nurse would help her relate more privately and provide detailed information about hygiene. As the nurse would assist her in eliminating those situations that might cause diminishing effects on her and her children’s health and provider an optimal environment for her living place. Body healing would be the main objective for the nurse that would be disseminated to Isabel through the nurses’ talk and actions. The talk would be based on knowledge dispersal about making living conditions better where the pet is also involved along with actions such as cleaning the house, opening the windows, and switching on the fan. Even though it might look intimidating at first, if the nurse is visiting Isabel for the first time., the nurse could start by asking Isabel politely, “Should I switch on the fan as the room is too hot for the kids?” or “Should I open the air for fresh air as the three-week-old would then sleep peacefully without getting hot?” The role of being a liaison and collaboration would help Isabel believe that the nurse is here for her well-being and would look forward next time to help her in her tasks. ‘Helping in tasks’ is the criterion mentioned here since Florence Nightingale believed that home-based nursing offered the visiting nurses the role of deaconess where they educate the females of the home to learn and fulfill home tasks appropriately, such as cooking, housekeeping, and cleaning methods (Ogawa, 2016). Isabel would comprehend that the nurse could be symbolic and significant counseling in her life, especially in the initial years when her three-week baby is too small to be taken care of. Meanwhile, the nurse visits her with her interaction, intervention, and deaconess training capabilities.