Nursing theories and conceptual frameworks

There is no doubt that Florence Nightingale is one of most historic and prevalent voices in the history of nursing. There are certainly other names that one can discuss when it comes to nursing theory. However, this report shall focus on her and the theory that she has contributed to the nursing sphere and theory realm. She was a clear proponent in promoting ongoing wellness and education rather than just treating acute symptoms at the time of onset. Her words about the physical paradigm being an important part or nursing theory and calculus may seem obvious to us now. However, this was not always true at the time. While many people may not have Ms. Nightingale at the top of their list, she is certainly deserving of consideration for that honor, irrespective of who is having the discussion and where their priorities happen to be.
Analysis
When pondering Nightingale and the theories that she created and espoused, there is something that seem to rise above the rest. At least, that is the assertion of the author of this brief response. Ms. Nightingale was all about prevention. That is a lesson that is needed more and more with each passing day. Indeed, so much of the health ails that exist right now are entirely (or at least partially) preventable in nature. Just a few examples would include diabetes and heart diseases. Even many forms of cancer come about, in whole or in part, due to the actions or inactions of the people that suffer from these disorders and diseases for the caretakers that are charged with taking care of the same. Examples of caretakers would be the people that care for children, the elderly and so forth. The problem that exists is that people are often unwilling or otherwise unable to change. However, it is important that this pattern or “rut” be broken given that the human and financial costs involved are huge. Further, they show no signs of abating. This happens along some tragic societal and cultural lines. This would include culture, societal, class and race, just to name a few. Even women are behind the curve when it comes to healthcare outcomes, healthcare access and overall equality status (Graham, 2014).
Change, however, is very hard to come by. Even with the fact that many emergency room and other medical professionals know full well that there are huge gains to be seen if people would just make a few simple and lasting adjustments, it can be extremely frustrating to see the same sorts of problems file through doctors’ offices and emergency rooms with no relenting. It is even common to see the same people, and with the same problems, over and over again. It is to the point that one could make the argument for things like child abuse, elder abuse and so forth. However, failures and problems that exist with child and elder care are so pervasive, it comes down to “picking one’s battles” rather than fighting all dysfunction and bad practice when it is seen. This brings the author to the personal ethical example that is seen in emergency rooms. The author has seen children with healthcare problems that are clearly caused or worsened by obesity, bad diet and other such things. However, even trying to loop in Child Protective Services would certainly be a waste of time because abuse of that nature has to be rather severe before they will take notice or take action. This is something that sits heavy on the heart of the author. Even if the parents or caretakers in question do not have bad intentions, the effects that will come to pass from generational repeating of these bad habits and bad parenting in general is absolutely real. Indeed, it is often a repeating cycle that yields terrible results over and over (Sherwood, 2016).
Conclusion
American society should take the words and lessons of Ms. Nightingale to heart. While dealing with the onset of healthcare problems and issues is something that should never be abandoned, it is prevention, better living and better parenting that will lead to the best results over time. Rather than just deal with the symptoms of the “disease” in question, more attention should be paid to what is causing the problems in the first place. Only when the root “disease” is attacked and cured can there be true progress. There will always be the need for emergency care and some children and other people truly do have genetic and other factors that will challenge them no matter what. However, there are so many other situations that can and should be prevented.

















References
Graham, G. (2014). Population-based approaches to understanding disparities in cardiovascular
disease risk in the United States. National Institute of Health. Retrieved 29 January 2018,
from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132228/
Sherwood, M. (2016). A New Kind Of Child Abuse And Neglect. Huffington Post. Retrieved 29
January 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-new-kind-of-child-abuse-
and-neglect_us_57e93475e4b05d3737be643b