Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice

Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED AND ORIGINAL ESSAY PAPERS ON Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice ? Discussion: The basic story of Florence Nightingale is familiar to most nurses. This week we learned more about Nightingale’s life and work. Select at least one piece of the Nightingale legacy that was new to you and tell us how this changed your understanding of this great woman and her contributions to nursing. Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice Please feel free to use any or all of the enclosed references. The only required reference is from Judd & Sitzman. https://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/resources/b… References Biography of Florence Nightingale. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/resources/b… Judd, D. and Sitzman, K. (2014) A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras. Jones and Bartlett Learning. Burlington, MA. McDonald, L. (2014). Florence Nightingale, statistics and the Crimean War. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society) , 177 (3), 569–586. https://doi-org.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org… Zborowsky, T. (2014). The Legacy of Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory: Nursing Research Focusing on the Impact of Healthcare Environments. Health Environments Research & Design Journal (HERD) (Vendome Group LLC) , 7 (4), 19–34. https://doi-org.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org… fn_environmental_theory.pdf crimeanwar.pdf chapter5_florence_nightinga Reference: Judd, D. and Sitzman, K. (2014) A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras. Jones and Bartlett Learning. Burlington, MA. Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice Advances in Practice in notes on nursing (1860), Nightingale introduced her then-unheard-of revolutionary ideas related to holistic nursing care that are now familiar to any modern nurse: In watching diseases, both in private houses and in public hospitals, the thing which strikes the experienced observer most forcibly is this, that the symptoms or the sufferings generally considered to be inevitable and incident to the disease are very often not symptoms of the disease at all, but of something quite different—of the want of fresh air, or of light, or of warmth, or of quiet, or of cleanliness, or of punctuality and care in the administration of diet, of each or of all of these . . . 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. (Nightingale, 1860 , p. 8). Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice It was not yet understood that germs or filth could cause or worsen illness and/or infection, and the value of simple cleanliness in relation to well-being was not yet embraced by healthcare providers of the time, but Nightingale had observed through many years of experience that patients fared better in clean, light, calm, well-ventilated surroundings. Nightingale believed that it was imperative to fully attend to a patient’s total environment in order to provide support for the body’s own healing powers to resolve illness (Nightingale, 1860 ). Although these concepts may seem to be commonplace and commonsense today, in Nightingale’s time, they represented great advancement in nursing practice and in health care. This approach was the beginning of a holistic patient care model that persists to this day. In addition to creating a holistic approach to patient care, Nightingale was the first nurse to systematically collect data and then statistically analyze it in order to justify proposed policy and treatment protocol changes aimed at improving patient outcomes (Andrist et al., 2006 ). This activity was a precursor to the current evidence-based practice movement. It is interesting to note that in 1858, because of her extensive understanding of and use of statistics, Nightingale became the first female member of the Statistical Society of London (Dossey, 2000 ). Based on her study and statistical analysis of information related to hospital surgical data, the sanitary situation in hospitals in India, Crimean War mortalities, and the British army medical department, Nightingale made many fruitful recommendations for change to improve patient outcomes in Great Britain and India. Nightingale also systematically collected and documented health and illness data from public census records, believing that such information could provide the basis for sweeping improvement of public health (Dossey, 2000 ). Throughout her life, she used her knowledge and expertise related to statistical analysis to support productive collaborations with members of the English Parliament, political reformers, philanthropists, and journalists. Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice Historical Happenings Nightingale ( 1860 / 1946 ) wrote: One word about pillows: “Every weak patient . . . suffers more or less from difficulty breathing. To take the weight of the body of the poor chest, which is hardly up to its work as it is, ought therefore to be the object of the nurse in arranging pillows. [The nurse] piles the pillows one a-top of the other like a wall of bricks. The head is thrown upon the chest and the shoulders are pushed forward, so as not to allow the lungs room to expand . . . But the object is to support, with pillows, the back below the breathing apparatus, to allow the shoulders room to fall back, and to support the head, without throwing it forward. The suffering of dying patients is immensely increased by neglect of these points. And many an invalid, too weak to drag about his pillows himself, slips his book or anything at hand behind the lower part of his back for support” (p. 47). Beds: “A patient’s bed should always be in the lightest spot in the room; and he should be able to see out of the window” (p. 47). Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice War and Its Effects on Nursing in 1853, the turks were engaged in a war with Russia on Turkish soil—the Crimean War. In 1854, in an attempt to end the war and stabilize the region, France and Britain demanded that Russia withdraw from Turkey. When Russia refused, France and Britain sent troops to Turkey to aid in the expulsion of the Russians. There was great bloodshed among British soldiers. British military hospitals in Turkey were ill-equipped and poorly managed, resulting in unnecessary suffering and death among British soldiers. A war correspondent for the London Times , William Howard Russell, exposed the seriously substandard military hospital situation in Turkey, which inflamed British public opinion (Dossey, 2000 ). Amid great public outcry and vigorous demands for improved care of wounded British soldiers in the Crimea, British Secretary at War Sidney Herbert took the unprecedented step of making plans to send a contingent of female nurses to the Barrack Hospital at Scutari in an attempt to improve conditions. He asked 34-year-old Florence Nightingale to lead the expedition (Dossey, 2000 ). On October 21, 1854, Nightingale, whom Herbert had just appointed superintendent of the female nursing establishment of the English general hospitals in Turkey, and 38 nurses departed London for the Barrack Hospital at Scutari (Donahue, 1996 ). The conditions that awaited this determined and brave group of women were far worse than any of them imagined. The huge Barrack Hospital, which was designed to hold 1,700 patients, had been filled with between 3,000 and 4,000 wounded and dying soldiers. There were few windows in the cavernous stone building, and candles stuck in empty beer bottles illuminated row upon row (four miles of rows in one estimate) of filthy, blood-covered, suffering, dying, emaciated men without blankets, sheets, or the most basic hygiene necessities, lying in their own excrement. Lice, maggots, rats, and various other vermin were everywhere and crawled over the wounded soldiers. There was a lack of even the most basic medical supplies, no kitchen facilities, and no laundry facilities. The mortality rate was 60% (Donahue, 1996 ; Kalisch & Kalisch, 2004 ). The military physicians and officers resented the presence of female nurses and were unhelpful and abusive. Accommodations for the nurses consisted of six tiny, squalid rooms with no furniture. The nurses received one meager meal a day (Donahue, 1996 ; Kalisch & Kalisch, 2004 ). Nevertheless, Nightingale used her considerable influence back home to obtain needed supplies and more nurses. Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice. She worked tirelessly day and night to transform the Barrack Hospital at Scutari into a place of healing. War correspondents and recovering soldiers sent messages to Britain praising the work of Nightingale and her contingent of nurses. London Times Correspondent M. W. MacDonald filed this report on November 20, 1854: Wherever there is disease in its most dangerous form, and the hand of the despoiler distressingly nigh, there is this incomparable woman [Florence Nightingale] sure to be seen; her benignant presence is an influence for good comfort, even amid the struggles of expiring nature. She is a “ministering angel,” without any exaggeration, in these hospitals; her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow’s face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all of the medical officers have retired for the night, and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds. (Kalisch & Kalisch, 2004 , p. 32) Nightingale worked to exhaustion and near collapse. She contracted Crimean fever and almost died. Her efforts at the Barrack Hospital at Scutari resulted in the mortality rate decreasing from 60% to a fraction over 1%. She returned to England a national hero after the war ended in 1856; however, the extreme hardship Nightingale endured during the Crimean War resulted in frail health for the rest of her life (Donahue, 1996 ; Dossey, 2000 ; Kalisch & Kalisch, 2004 ). Nightingale’s experiences in the Crimea impassioned her to work for healthcare reform for British soldiers. She labored ceaselessly and successfully (due to her immense popularity, expertise, experience, and collegial connections) to improve military hospital conditions. She also worked to improve civilian hospitals and health care. As a result of the great public stature of Nightingale following the Crimean War, a philanthropic organization named the Nightingale Fund was set up by colleagues and supporters to aid Nightingale in her work. Money from this fund was used in the establishment of the Nightingale Training School at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London and later for other nurse training schools in England. Discussion: Environment Theory For Nursing Practice Get a 10 % discount on an order above $ 100 Use the following coupon code : NURSING10