Florence Nightingale’s Infection Control Practice
In today's healthcare world, infection prevention is essentially important. This vital procedure is attributed to Florence Nightingale. It is so well integrated that one does not know how much of one's daily life contributes to preventing infection. These patterns of instinct have been strongly influenced by Florence Nightingale. Her methods and procedures are self-evident. These activities have had a significant effect on how healthcare is delivered in today's culture. Her theory of spotlessness and hygiene to avoid sepsis in patients who were hospitalized has had a major effect on today's healthcare. Her legacy can be seen in contemporary strategies for preventing the spread of needless infections that bloomed in hospitals.
The utterly effective method of preventing parallel transmission of infection among patients and healthcare staff in hospitals is hand hygiene. This is one of the significant infection-prevention habits passed down from Florence Nightingale. It is not only powerful, but it is also simple to implement and teach. It is a habit that is instilled in children at a younger age that almost becomes an automatic routine. The most widespread medium for transmitting organisms is “hands”. Florence Nightingale was well aware of this, and it was a crucial factor in her infection control success. To keep clean hands is valuable to sustain healthy patient surroundings. This entails sanitizing medical equipment both after and between patient visits. To reduce the risk of patient-acquired infections, many of the hospital tools used today are disposable. Nightingale stressed the importance of preserving a clean atmosphere throughout her life. Infection prevention requires not only hygiene but also a high degree of cleaning of patient appliances such as bed rests and door handles.
Guidelines have been created to standardize sanitation and prevent HAIs based on theories of cleanliness proposed by Nightingale. To be safe, each precaution requires strict guidelines and procedures that must be followed. These protocols adapted Nightingales' principles to meet the needs of today's healthcare system. The standard precautions apply to all patients, that gloves should be worn when making a contact with any kind of blood or bodily fluids, and that gowns and eyewear should be worn in circumstances where splashes may occur. Contacting precautions are used for pathogens that are transmitted by direct or indirect contact with infected individuals, such as surfaces in the patient's surroundings or personal belongings. Droplet and airborne safeguards are similar in that N95 respirator masks are needed, but airborne measures necessitate the use of a negative pressure space. Patients requiring airborne precautions must also be housed in a single room.
Nutrition was often stressed as a way of strengthening or avoiding infection in Nightingale's holistic approach to treatment. It not only helps the body prevent infections physiologically but also offers general sensory pleasure. Florence and her nurses swabbed the hospital clean, cleaned the sheets, blankets, and towels, washed the hospital's kitchens, and cooked healthier, wholesome food for patients. These rituals are still practiced in hospitals today as a result of Nightingale's work. Evidence-based practice has now validated Nightingale's nutritional hypotheses. Nasogastric feedings minimize the number of injury infections caused by intestinal flora, and they help to improve gut circulation, which reduces bowel flora diffusion.
In Nightingale's ideals of proper sanitation, education is crucial. She regularly trained other nurses and volunteers with whom she partnered to ensure that her methods were properly implemented. This aided in medication enforcement and better results. A similar assumption can be deduced from today. Especially well-instructed nurses circulate the hospital, facilitating good practice and ensuring that infection control strategies are being used correctly. Because of a shortage of adherence and learning, specially trained nurses are needed. Today, the need for zero HAI is motivated by financial considerations. Nightingale's tenacious attitudes regarding the importance of proper hygiene were also apparent in her practice and writings.
Florence Nightingale has a tremendous impact on practices related to healthcare. Her sanitation theory is an integral part of preventing infection. The simple hygiene campaign initiated by Nightingale sparked the campaign of healing through a clean and tidy environment. Nurses were regarded quite differently before Nightingale. Hospital nurses were particularly infamous for unethical behaviour; contentment was almost uncommon among them, and they could hardly be entrusted to carry out the basic medical duties. Today’s modern healthcare is influenced by her nursing principles.
Bibliography
- Florence Nightingale, History.com Editors, https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/florence-nightingale-1, Accessed17 March 2021
- Louise Selanders n.d., Florence Nightingale, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Florence-Nightingale, Accessed17 March 2021.
- Kopf, E.W., 1978. Florence Nightingale as a statistician. Research in nursing
