Rethinking the environment as a domain of nursing knowledge

Nurses frequently care for individuals whose problems originate from the environment. Yet the environmental paradigm in nursing is client-oriented and psychosocial and does not adequately explain these conditions. Nursing theory and research in the environmental domain are explored in this article and found to be focused within this limited paradigm. Models and theories from other disciplines and upstream nursing approaches that address multidimensional environmental characteristics are discussed in terms of providing direction for making a paradigm shift leading to a revolution in nursing's environmental consciousness.