Florence Nightingale Biography

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Florence nightingale was born in 1820. She has acquired much credit to her name in the field of nursing. She has credit as the founder of modern nursing and also for being the first nursing theorist. Nightingale proposed that nursing should have specific training and education. She is widely known as the lady with the lamp. Florence nightingale has the credit for coming up with environmental adaptation theory on nursing.

Her theory states that people are composed of biological, social, spiritual and psychological components. The theory observes that disease is a portrayal of the absence of comfort. It states that nursing is distinct and different from medicine. She asserts that symptoms inform nurses of the presence of illnesses that allow for appropriate care and intervention. The theory states that when people break natural laws of the environment they cause diseases. These natural laws include fresh air, pure water, cleanliness, light and efficient drainage among other factors. The theory also asserts that overall improvement in the health of individuals and families lead to improved health for the whole society. Nightingale focused on physical factors rather than psychological requirements of patients. This happened because of the nature of nursing that existed at her time. Her theory for nursing was holistic in nature. Her concepts put together individual human beings, society, health, environment, disease and nursing. She had the belief that people could alter the environment to improve the existing conditions so that natural laws could favor healing to occur. She observed this on the ground that poor and unsafe environments could lead to poor health and the infection of diseases. Therefore, nursing had the goal of prov...

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...nd nursing. It views these aspects as related and essential in the promotion and maintenance of health. A person is the combination of social, psychological, biological and spiritual aspects. The environment serves to provide natural laws that help to maintain a healthy person. Health is the ability to put energy for the realization of full potential and the absence of disease. Nursing encompasses all activities that promote health, maintain a clean and healing-enabled environment. It also ensures the complete well-being of a person.

In conclusion, the theory has importance because it helps people to maintain clean environments. It has importance for nurses and the nursing profession because it outlines the activities of nurses and the requirements of nursing as a science and a profession. Therefore, the theory has significance for the promotion of human health.

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