Introduction
Supporting people and improving their health is an honorable mission of the nursing profession. Many philosophical concepts of nursing have evolved over time and determine the current condition of this field in some ways. However, this occupation constantly encounters various challenges indirectly related to it. Therefore, nursing requires continuous reflection and rethinking of its principles because it determines the level of global health, though its immediate action is oriented toward local contexts.
Comparison of Nursing Theories
Among the vital components of appropriate and effective care is the environment. Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory encompasses the availability of proper sanitary conditions and holistic care by emphasizing just how pivotal the role of surrounding conditions is for beneficial outcomes for a patient (Gilbert, 2020). As stated by Gilbert (2020), the foundational component of Nightingale’s theory is promoting and maintaining a healthy home that must include clean and fresh water, overall cleanliness, pure air, basic sanitation, and light in order to promote health and well-being. In the current healthcare arena, Florence Nightingale’s environmental theory has contributed to the development of various evidence-based approaches, such as hand washing, using gloves during the delivery of direct care, and hand sanitizing to minimize the risk of the spread or transmission of infections among clients and staff (McDonald, 2001).
However, not only the environment is the determining factor for quality health outcomes among individuals across the healthcare continuum. According to Dorothea Orem, who developed the self-care theory, a person should be able to take independent actions focused on maintaining and improving health and well-being without a healthcare professional’s supervision (Zhizhpon-Quinde et al., 2021). Orem’s self-care theory also encompasses the concepts of health, environment, and human being (Current Nursing, n.d.). One can find a similarity in the environment component of both theories as pivotal in care delivery. The environmental theory foresees a nurse’s involvement in life-long learning in terms of enhancing professional capacities for providing effective care. In turn, within the self-care concept, a nurse should put efforts into patient education, thus contributing to patient independence. As one can admit, Nightingale’s and Orem’s theories are different in their focus on health factors, but they still can complement each other because health is a multi-dimensional phenomenon.
Although I have not precisely formulated my definition of nursing, its main element is interaction. Through communicating with patients, colleagues, and people of other professions, I found out that everything influences human health. Given this, my concept of nursing sounds like “caring for people while considering and addressing the impact of all elements that change human life and health.” Thus, the professional nurse should also pay attention even to those details in a patient’s life and health history that seem insignificant because they may have a determining role.
Current State of Nursing
Currently, nursing encounters instability and transformation at the same time. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has added new challenges to healthcare but still contributed to the development of the industry. Nurses were the first to face an attack of the pandemic with overloaded healthcare facilities. The challenges continue to affect the physical and mental health of nurses, compromising their capabilities of appropriate patient care, which includes ensuring a safe and clean environment and encouraging patients to self-care practices. As Handzel (2022) states, job dissatisfaction rates have grown during the pandemic. This statement is supported by survey results demonstrating that 21% of nursing staff go to work angry, and 48% are contemplating leaving the healthcare industry (Handzel, 2022). The presented views and attitudes find their explanation in the enormous pressure encountered by nurses.
In addition, the nursing workforce is still insufficient despite promising predictions. Remarkably, 56% of hospitals reported a nursing staff shortage before COVID-19, and 5% of nurses quit their jobs during the pandemic (Handzel, 2022). Although a 9% increase in the nursing workforce is anticipated by 2030 because of growing enrollment in nursing training programs, the number of nursing staff is still scarce against the background of high demand (Handzel, 2022). Many hospitals seem unable to go out of a vicious circle because they do not hire inexperienced graduate nurses on the one hand and do not invest in the advancement of the nursing workforce (Handzel, 2022). Nevertheless, a part of hospitals develops effective programs to overcome understaffing (Handzel, 2022). Thus, the current state of nursing highlights the problems of the lack of nurses rather than theoretical approaches to healthcare practices.
Personal Philosophy
Before nursing school, picturing myself as a future registered nurse, I hoped to be someone that provides the best care for my patients and make a difference in their life. However, having the knowledge of what it means to be a nurse in the present day has changed my personal philosophy of nursing. Both Nightingale’s environmental theory and Orem’s self-care theory have made me realize that in order for me to provide the best care to patients, a patient’s environment and self-dependence will allow for the best optimal outcome of their health. Through clinical experience, it has made me realize how important holistic care plays a part in patient care. This experience has shown me that in order for a patient to reach their most optimal health, maintaining a clean, organized environment, along with allowing them to be in charge of their own health, will further increase their well-being.
Conclusion
Finally, nursing impacts global health through little changes encouraged locally. Many prominent nursing philosophers, such as Florence Nightingale and Dorothea Orem, developed various concepts of care. Nevertheless, one needs to emphasize the interaction between different factors, including environment and individual’s self-care capacities, that impact human health when formulating a modern concept of nursing. The current state and the future of nursing can be described as challenging because many nurses have left their positions, and many hospitals encounter understaffing, though the nursing workforce continues to grow.
References
Current Nursing. (n.d.). Dorothea Orem’s self-care theory. Web.
Gilbert, H. A. (2020). Florence Nightingale’s theory and its influence on contemporary infection control. Collegian, 27(6), 626-633. Web.
Handzel, S. (2022). Nursing challenges and opportunities in 2022. Wolters Kluwer. Web.
McDonald, L. (2001). Florence Nightingale and the early origins of evidence-based nursing. Evidence-Based Nursing 2001; 4:68-69. Web.
Zhizhpon-Quinde, T. C., Mesa-Cano, I. C., & Ramírez-Coronel, A. A. (2021). Prevention of Covid-19 through Dorothea Orem’s self-care theory. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 6(3), 809-815. Web.
