Philosophical theory and its applications

Nursing Philosophical Theory

The practice of nursing has come a long way from its humble roots. As it has evolved, there have been different philosophies asserting different methodologies for appropriate care strategies within the contemporary context. Many of these have some similar structures to serve as a base, but often differ on key elements. For example, Florence Nightingale shares a scientific and systematic approach with Kari Martinsen; yet, Martinsen advocates a much more active patient, whose social needs re considered within the care strategies, thus going far beyond Nightingale's earlier philosophies.

Florence Nightingale was a fundamental advocate for the creation of nursing as a scientific practice. As such, her philosophy of nursing is very scientific orientated, with a demand for nursing to practice as a science, and not just some loosely regulated secondary system. Nightingale consistently turned to empirical evidence in order to strengthen her assertions and philosophies, and often used her own field experience as a basis for potential reform within nursing practice at the time. This was incredibly scientific based, especially for the practice of nursing, which was not really considered a scientific practice until much later. Martinsen shares this systematic foundation, as she also asserts the importance of treating nursing practice like a well tailored science.

Overall, Nightingale's main elements of her philosophy focus on environment. This is shared somewhat in Martinsen's theory, but it is the point where the two begin to differentiate. According to the research, "although Nightingale never used the term environment in her writing, she did define and describe in detail the concepts of ventilation, warmth light, diet, cleanliness, and noise -- components of surroundings that have come to be known as environment in discussions of her work" (75). Essentially, Nightingale's philosophy asserted that health surroundings would facilitate the increased health of the patient. As such, she focuses on five theoretical components for the best nursing and health environmental setting: pure air, pure water, proper drainage, cleanliness, and light. Subsequently, "the nurse was instructed to manipulate the environment continually" in order to ensure that all factors were facilitating a healthy recovery (75). Cleanliness was another major element to Nightingale's philosophy, and one which revolutionized the way nursing is practiced in a contemporary context. Nightingale's philosophy demanded a completely clean and sterile environment in order to best provide for a healthy recovery of patients in need. This is also seen in Martinsen's philosophy and the way it approaches nursing care and practice as a meticulous science.

However, Nightingale's philosophies presented a passive patient, who did not really engage in their own health care strategies. These patients were not involved in the manipulation of the environment around them in order to best facilitate successful care strategies. Rather, the nurses and physicians seemed to work autonomously and outside of the patient's involvement. This isolated the very people who were receiving care and created a situation where the patient could not contribute to the strategy of care of the process of recovery. On the other hand, Martinsen's philosophy is very much influenced by phenomenology. Thus, Martinsen's philosophy of care is centered more around treating the patients and people as social beings that are active within their own care process. Essentially, her philosophy views people as being extremely dependent on social structures and foundations, and that nursing should not ignore such a large art of the human condition in strategizing for the best methods of care. Care must include a care for our social and emotional selves, just as much as it does for our physical selves. This includes involving the patient on a much deeper level than seen in Nightingale's philosophy, in order to really determine their needs as a patient and thus create the most effective and tailored strategy of care for that particular individual. Martinsen stresses the correlation between empathy and emotional connection between caregiver and care receiver. Her philosophy demands the expanding clinical interactions to have that deeper emotional bond within them that satisfies the patients' needs for social stimulation and involvement. This is what differentiates Martinsen's philosophy and what makes it a crucial element to contemporary nursing, where the patient is seen both as a patient, but also as an ally in the execution of tailored and holistic care strategies.