Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory

Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory

Originally considered a philosophy during her time, Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory still applies today. At the core of the theory, Nightingale believed that a patient’s environment impacted his or her ability to heal naturally (Alligood, 2010). Her spiritual beliefs were closely tied with nature, and because of this she believed fully that it should be involved in a patient’s care (Hegge, 2013).

Florence Nightingale was a privileged child of wealthy parents. Under typical circumstances of the time, this meant that she was to act as a lady would, and her parents fought fiercely against her becoming a nurse. She was first introduced to the underprivileged by her mother, who would often bring food and supplies to the poor in their “home” environment (Hegge, 2013).

Florence, even in her youth, was a brilliant young girl with an excellent education. It was these trips with her mother that eventually inspired her to answer what she called was “God’s” message to her: to serve the sick and underprivileged as a nurse.

Although she served many vulnerable populations during her time as a nurse, it was her first assignment serving poor, yet working women who had fallen ill or were in their final stages of life. Here, she discovered that if she manipulated the environment in which the woman was healing, better outcomes were achieved (to include a more peaceful death) (Hegge, 2013). In her book, “Notes on Nursing: What it is, and What it is Not,” she outlines several environmental factors that were imperative to positive patient outcomes. These included seven tenets: “Light, ventilation, warmth, bed and bedding, quiet, cleanliness and food” (Nightingale, 1898).

Nightingale believed that if these things, along with certain courtesies from the nursing staff (that of not gossiping or being judgmental toward the patient)