There are several theorists that can fit the neonatal population, but the one that I am selecting today is Florence Nightingale. Although she is one of the oldest theorists, her model can still be applied to everyday nursing. All patients are prone to getting an infection; however, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is particularly at risk. Florence Nightingale gave us some principles that would help many of our patients. She believed in keeping the environment clean, therefore observing good infection control. She also believed in keeping the patient in the best condition and letting nature take its course or “God.” So Florence did have a spiritual connection which made her sensitive to cultural awareness of others (DeNisco & Barker, 2013).
I believe Florence Nightingale’s research model is quantitative. She believed that if an environment was kept clean, that the patient would not develop infections. She believed that nurses needed to wash their hands frequently. Back in that era, this was not a highly common practice. Bringing it to this generation, looking at the NICU, it makes sense. The NICU believes in keeping a sterile environment allowing only certain visitors to see the babies and frequent hand washing and scrubbing for the staff and the parents. When parents are sick, they are asked not to come to the NICU, if a baby is sick, the parents are asked to wear a mask, gown, and even wear gloves, depending on the baby’s condition. This is an example of keeping the environment free of infections so as not to spread it to the babies (Alligood, 2010).
References
Alligood, M. (2010). Madeleine M. Leininger: Modern Nursing. In Alligood Introduction to the Nursing Theory (7th ed. (p64). Retrieved from Vital Source Bookshelf
DeNisco, S. M., & Barker, A. M. (Eds.). (2013). The slow march to professional practice. Advanced Practice Nursing (2nd ed., pp. 6-17). [Vital Source Bookshelf].
Dr. Rosie Moore https://rosiemoore27.com/