Concrete Upon arriving at the Dreiling Schmidt Cancer Institute, I met my nurse on the radiation oncology side of the center. She orientated me to the floor and introduced me to the rest of the staff members. The morning started off slow for the nurse, because a new patient that was originally scheduled for 0800 was put on hold due to the individual’s blood count being abnormal. The next patient wasn’t until 1100, so we had some good conversations about nursing and radiation. The nurse explained her role on the floor and showed the charting method the center uses. She also asked me questions about nursing to test my knowledge and then explained reasoning behind the answers. She was a very educational nurse and taught me a lot about radiation …show more content…
As mentioned in Understanding the Works of Nurse Theorist, “The core concept of Levine’s theory is conservation. When a person is in a state of conservation, it means that individual adaptive responses confront change productively, and with the least expenditure of effort, while preserving optimal function and identity” (Sitzman & Eichelberger, 2017, p. 69-70). The adaptive responses can occur at many different levels, but to ensure that the patient doesn’t waste to much energy or get worn down trying to adaptive to changes, four principles of conservation are used: the energy of the individual, the structural integrity of the individual, personal integrity, and social integrity of the individual (p. 71). The over all goal of the conservation is to maintain optimal health (p. 71). Because cancer patients are going through a lot during this time of their life, it is important as the nurse to remember how vulnerable they are because of the disease. “A person who provides nursing care bears a heavy debt of responsibility when entering into another person’s life during vulnerable times when illness has caused temporary dependency” (p. 71). I tried my best to keep an opening mind to what they were going through, and how hard is for them to adapative to this new situation or changing
Still, the previous advantages discussed should influence the nurse to improve in identifying patient vulnerability. This is evident by this patient where I utilized my interpersonal skills to communicate to this patient so that he/she is aware that he/she is not alone in this journey. Nurses need to utilize models and theories to guide nursing practice. For instance, McCormack’s framework focuses on patient-centered care which influences nurses to understand the patient as a whole and their values (Abley, 2012, p. 42). Being able to identify values will give nurses and myself a better comprehension about the patients resulting in worthiness and belonging expressed. As a result, informing nurses about patient’s subjective vulnerability because a trust and understanding relationship is established. This is supported in a clinical experience where a patient “felt understood and opened up for further interactions based on trust” through an honest, supportive relationship with a nurse (Gjengedal, 2013, p. 134). Nurses should provide patient-focused provision of service, and assist this patient in overcoming his/her obstacle as a way of encouragement. Furthermore, Sellman (2005) explains how encouragement may compromise human flourish (p. 7), it is dependent on the situation and it cannot be assumed all encouragement will lead to harm. This informs nurses to be aware of the consequences that prevent the
I find The Behavioral model similar to the hospice philosophy, in which the focus is on holistic care. Johnson's model is influenced by the biological, psychological and social factors and focuses on the needs that are common to people. Therefore, the importance to maintain and restore the balance in stressful situations can be challenging! The model's subsystems, structural and functional components all integrate enabling the nurse to understand the patient's behavior. As an example, some dying patients will present hostility and resentment toward nurses and doctors. Then, it is obvious to understand that these dying patients are displacing a defense mechanism as a protection for the fears that they cannot express.
Recovery and professional caring both are integrated in everyone’s career as a nurse. As nurses we need to aid individuals in the recovery process, as well as promoting a professional and caring environment for them to strive in. Jean Watsons Theory of Human Caring and the Repper and Perkins recovery model both inter-relate in recovering from an illness. In all three of the recovery models components that are inter-related, authenticity is needed to make the connections with the patients, especially with the model being based on individual adaption and preference (Bennet et al., 2014, p. 39). This is more of a contemporary way of thinking as it more relates to change and growth of the individual (Collier, 2010, p. 17). To be able to aid a patient to make a full recovery, the patient must have the resources and support, with good intentions and authenticity from those who are enabling them, such as nurses.
Participant 4 stated, “I think just basically being there for the family as well…I think even just a cup of tea can go a long way with any family (McCallum & McConigley, 2013). Another theory that intertwines with Watson’s is Barbara Dossey’s Theory of Integral Nursing. Dossey articulates, “Healing is not predictable, it is not synonymous with curing but the potential for healing is always present even until one’s last breath,” (Parker and Smith, 2015, p. 212). Dossey believes that integral nursing is a comprehensive way to organize different situations in fours perspectives (nurse, health, person and environment) of reality with the nurse as an instrument in the healing process by bringing his or her whole self into a relationship with another whole self. In the HDU, the RN’s interacted with each patient while providing high quality care to create a healing environment for the patient and family even when their prognosis was otherwise. Patient 3 specified that “We still have to provide care...and make the family feel that they are comfortable and looked after” (McCallum & McConigley, 2013). These theories ultimately show the importance of a nurse through the aspects of caring to create and maintain a healing environment that is not only beneficial to the patient but to their loved ones as
Caring for someone with significant health issues is an exhausting and stressful experience and it is hardly surprising that carers are prone to developing ‘burnout’. Observed in nursing, this phenomenon, described as ‘…a haemorrhaging of oneself for others’ is detrimental as stress over-load causes the cognitive and emotional responses to severely malfunction (O’Mahoney, 1983 cited in Farrington, 1997). Carers in this state of mind inevitably develop negative internalised and externalised feelings, including self-depletion, low self-esteem, limited energy, negativity and hopelessness (Taylor and Barling, 2004). A report conducted by Age UK highlights that 6 out of 10 carers suffer damaging conditions related to their mental health, including depression and lack of confidence. Furthermore, these feelings are often intensified by carers’ perseverance which aggravates existing disabilities, such as arthritis, crumbling spine, heart problems and cancer, and leads to further pain (Carers Trust,
The concept of person needs to be explored to go into further depth with the remaining concepts of the metaparadigm of nursing. Person refers to the person undergoing nursing care which includes individuals, families, groups, and communities (MacIntyre & McDonald, 2014, p.63). It is evident that each person may be unique with different biological, psychological, social, and spiritual depth (Thorne, 2010, p.66). Therefore, it is necessary for nurses to realize that each person at the centre of any nursing care will experience different feelings in regards to their body as a whole. The theorist, Parse, defines the concept of person as being “linked to an unfolding process, the relating of value priorities, meaning, and quality of life” (Wu, 2008, p.6). Also those human beings are free and choose in situations that arise from personal experience and becoming with the universe (Thorne, 2010, p.71). The nurses’ role in regards to this theory is to act encourage individuals in their human becoming process. Wu (2008) looks at the p...
A nurse’s role in our society today is exceptionally significant. Nurses are somewhat idolized and looked to as our everyday “superman”. “The mission of nursing in society is to help individuals, families, and groups to determine and achieve physical, mental, and social potential, and to do so within the challenging context of the environment in which they live and work” (“The Role of a Nurse/Midwife”). Many Americans turn to nurses for delivery of primary health care services and health care education (Whelan). In our country, there is constantly someone in need of health care. There will always be a baby being born or a person dying, someone becoming ill or growing old. Some people due to their physical and/or mental state of health are completely dependent on a nurse and wouldn’t be able to get through the simple obstacles of every day, or achieve the necessary requirements of a simple day without their aid. Not only do nurses help, and assist you when you’re sick, but also act to promote good health to others. They end...
Nursing is an occupation where many different individuals within a wide age range trust. Whether its children, teen, youth, adult, mature adults, nurses are there to help anyone with any condition. However, in order for one to be a nurse, they must learn the many different complex, detailed and difficult learning objectives within their study period. In NUR102, also known as Professionhood and Knowledge of Nursing I. Within this course, I learned the different nursing theorists that contribute to the nursing that is today. One of those theorists is Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was the first nursing theorist that proposed her environmental theory which involved her tenants, which are the factors that are required to restore an individual’s
Every person’s needs must be recognized, respected, and filled if he or she must attain wholeness. The environment must attuned to that wholeness for healing to occur. Healing must be total or holistic if health must be restored or maintained. And a nurse-patient relationship is the very foundation of nursing (Conway et al 2011; Johnson, 2011). The Theory recognizes a person’s needs above all. It sets up the conducive environment to healing. It addresses and works on the restoration and maintenance of total health rather than only specific parts or aspect of the patient’s body or personality. And these are possible only through a positive healing relationship between the patient and the nurse (Conway et al, Johnson).
The human becoming theory posits quality of life from each person's own perspective as the goal of nursing practice. It is a human science theory that views individuals as an open, unitary and free-willed beings that co-creates their health and interact with their environments. The human becoming theory views nursing as a basic science with a unique knowledge base. Parse defined unitary as the indivisible, unpredictable and ever-changing part of human that makes choices while living a paradoxical pattern of becoming in mutual process with the universe (Parse, 2004). Health is living one’s own chosen values; it is the quality of life experienced and described by the person and it cannot be given, guarded, manipulated, judged or diagnosed. It is a process of becoming that is unfolding and cannot be prescribed or described by societal norms but by the individual living t...
My journey to nursing began with my personal healthcare experience, and has continued to evolve since entering the nursing program at State University. My personal philosophy of nursing is related my life experience and my personal philosophy of life. Using reflection-on-action, I have begun to understand the influences that have lead me to nursing. I discovered client and family centered care to be an important quality when I look at the influential nurses in my life. To develop a positive therapeutic nurse-client relationship, nurses must integrate all 5 dimensions of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship into their practice (CNO, 2006). When it comes to providing client-centered care, the dimensions of trust, empathy and respect are particularly important (CNO, 2006). Illness can be a traumatic experience for patients and their families, and it is important to be empathetic to the patient’s needs, while still trusting the patient to be an expert in their illness and care.
This interactive grand theory is grounded in humanist philosophy, which expresses the belief that humans are unitary beings and energy fields in constant interaction with the universal energy field. This model guides the nurse who is interested in “physiologic” and “psychological” adoptions (McEwen & Wills, 2014, p. 177). This model views the nurse as holistic adaptive system constantly interacting with different stimuli. And also explains how different sets of interrelated systems maintain a balance between various stimuli to promote individual and environmental transformation (Alkrisat & Dee, 2014). This model creates a framework to provide care for individuals in health and “in acute, chronic, or terminal illness” (Shah, Abdullah, & Khan, 2015, p. 1834). It focuses on improving basic life processes of individuals, families, groups of people; nurses see communities as holistic adaptive systems. It consists of three basic assumptions: philosophical, scientific, and cultural. And it also contains many defined concepts about the environment, health, person, goal of nursing, adaptation, focal, contextual, and residual stimuli, cognator and regulator subsystem, and stabilizer and innovator control processes (McEwen & Wills, 2014, p.
Nurses are an equally important part of each client’s life. Nurses provide stable care to each client, answers their questions, gives medications and treatments, and assists with medical procedures. They also have the responsibility to explain to clients and family members what they should and should not do as they go through treatment and recovery. Nurses must quickly respond to patients needs. Every individual nurse has his or her own unique way of caring. There are so many ways to show caring that the possibilities are never ending. Nurse’s support, comfort, and help allow the patients to recover to the best of their ability. Their experiences in dealing with different patients that have unique situations on a daily basis helps the nurses become better caregivers. Therefore, every nurse is capable of demonstrating care in their respective environments.
Healthcare professionals must remember that although their following a proven set of guidelines, it is important to treat each patient as an individual as well. The nursing theorists have taken individuality in care into account and mentioned the importance of structuring nursing based on each individual’s needs, (Wadensten and Carlsson, 2003). Diiferent theorists have come up with different points on view on the practice of nursing. For example, Martha Rogers and Betty Neuman are both theorists that developed different theories to describe human-environment interaction. Martha Rogers believed in using three principles; reasonancy, helicy, and integrality to predict human behavior influencing healing. Reasonancy, which relates to wave patterns; helicy, which is concerned with non-repeating rhythmicities; and integrality, which is the continuous mutual human field and environmental field process (Chapman, 1987). Rogers also believed that a patient environment has a direct effect on the healing process. Betty Neuman believed in a holistic view and that we must treat patients as a whole. Neuman also describe nursing interventions as three principles primary, secondary and tertiary preventions. Primary referring to the protection and strengthening of the line of defense, secondary prevention refers to increased resistance factors and reduction in reaction. Tertiary prevention refers to the patients
The nurse stated during the interview that “holding the hand of the patient just diagnosed with a terminal illness” (Appendix A) is difficult and requires a variety of techniques to face the situation. There are many ways to approach a dying patient, and one study identified four themes that help nurses in creating a “’curtain of protection’ to mitigate the grieving process and allow them to provide supportive nursing care” (Gerow et al., 2010). Of the four approached, there is one that appears to make the greatest impact on the nurse; the fact that initial patient deaths are formative. In this case, a study found that “significant death experiences early in a nurse’s career set the foundation for how the nurse began caring for future dying patients” (Gerow et al., 2010), which was further explained as the fact that those who had enough support and mentorship early on in their nursing practice were more likely to not be emotionally damaged by the event, and were able to better approach similar situations in the future. I plan on implementing this strategy in the future by surrounding myself with colleagues and mentors within my practice that I am comfortable confiding in whenever I happen to be struggling. A strong support network is key for maintaining proper emotional health, which is important for a nurse to have when working with vulnerable patients and providing competent