The nursing profession comprises of various branches of work. Nurses deal with a wide kaleidoscope nursing capabilities and technical and medical knowledge which enable them to face many different kinds of situations concerning their duties. Perhaps one important component of these duties is the charge of taking care of their patients. As nurses, their main goal is to care for the patient they are charged with, and for this, they equip themselves with enough knowledge and technical expertise so that they can perform their tasks well.
On the matter of the patients needs, people under the care of nurses would most likely be in a situation where he or she is not able to maintain daily life by him/her self. The environment health of a person would consist of the person’s environment or surroundings. It can be defined as the patient’s sense of what is around him and these factors which in turn, affects his outlook on life in relation to his psychological health. Another definition of environmental health is seen in the factors in the patient’s quality of life, such as his physical surroundings which may also affect his overall health evaluation[1]. It emphasizes the patient’s biological, physical, social and psychosocial outlook on his/her environment.
This environment that is being discussed and defined does not limit itself into neither non-physical nor physical only kinds of environment. This can be seen as both the physical and intangible environment. The sounds and colors in the room can be defined as such. Also, the conversations happening and the moods of the people surrounding a person can also be identified as such, and so on.
Translated into action, a nursing care plan in this context may include special consideration that would be given to the patient’s environment or surroundings. Even the noise surroundings and the cleanliness of the area of treatment and the patient’s living quarters may also be part of the jurisdiction of the nurse. One method which can account for the patient’s environmental health can be seen in how the nurse will interact and communicate with his/her charge, creating an environment of peace and fellowship, giving way to a more peaceful outlook in life.
Another method which can be suggested is to go on trips that the nurse can prescribe to the client for purposes of relaxation and well-being. This can be seen in how some on the new clinics or surgical hospitals are placed within spa facilities and vocational spots. This can be interpreted as an effort to place the recovering clients in an environment with lush sceneries of peaceful forest and revitalizing spa facilities which are good for the psychological and mental well-being as well as physical reconstruction.
King and Harber prescribe their own nursing care plan in four ways[2]. These four ways of the nursing care plan places emphasis on the clients’ apprehensions or issues on environmental contact, or exposure to the environment. Another concept that King and Harber accentuate on is the importance of the nurses’ awareness of environmental health issues which incorporate physiologic, emotional, behavioral issues and educational inadequacies needed by the client. The third point of King and Harber is their recognition of the interactions between the nurses and their clients. This third provision of the study places importance on the awareness of the nurses how this kind of interaction affects their clients and ultimately is part of the environmental nursing care process.
A person’s environment truly has its effect on that person’s well-being whether he/she is well or whether he/she is an active member of society or otherwise. Not only are we talking about physical environment and surroundings but also psycho-social surroundings. As the saying goes that no man is an island, people are bound to their fellow human beings in attaining a balanced perspective in life and society. As health care givers and facilitators, nurses are bound by duty to provide or assure the provision of proper psychological and physical environment for their clients.
References
Environmental Health Policy Committee 1998, An ensemble of definitions of environmental health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, United States of America
King, C. Harber, P. 1998, Community environmental health concerns and the nursing process, American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Journal, vol. 46, pp.7-20
[1] Environmental Health Policy Committee 1998, An ensemble of definitions of environmental health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, United States of America
[2] King, C. Harber, P. 1998, Community environmental health concerns and the nursing process, American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Journal, vol. 46, pp.7-20
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