Hildegard Peplau's Theory: The Nursing Theory And The Importance Of Nursing

Nursing theories are the backbone of nursing. They are very important in the application of evidence-based practice (EBP). Furthermore, they help to improve not only the quality of care that we are providing to our patients but, they can also help us make better clinical decisions. The theory that I am interested in is Hildegard Peplau's theory. It is a middle range theory that focuses on interpersonal relations. This theory teaches us on how to interact with our patients so that they feel more in control of their treatment. In this paper, I will be talking about the importance of nursing, the summary of Peplau's theory, and how nurse practitioners can apply it.

Nursing theories form the supportive framework on which our patient care relies

Self-awareness, personal identity, and individuality were established as dominant, guiding concepts for nursing (D'Antonio et al., 2014). Peplaue theory explains "the interpersonal process that occurs when a patient and a nurse come together to resolve health-related difficulty" (Fawsett &Desanto-Madeya, 2013). This theory has three phases. The first phase is the orientation/ identification stage which is where the nurse gathers a health history, does assessments, and collects essential information about the patient. The second phase is the working phase which involves developing the nurse patient relationship. The focus in this stage is the patient’s reaction to illness and the work needed to be done toward their development of a better health condition. The third and last phase is the termination phase which is summarizing and proving closure of the work accomplished (Wayne, 2014).

The four metaparadigms of nursing are person, environment, health, and nursing. As a nurse working in public health, all four of them play a very important role in my practice.

The first metaparadigm is the person. Peplau sees the person as an organism that aims in its own way to minimize the pressure induces by

Moreover, it defines the relationship between the practitioner the patient. This theory makes a lot of sense to me and I couldn’t agree more with the importance of an interpersonal relationship between the practitioner and the patient. Practitioners can't do their jobs satisfactorily without the help and cooperation of the patients and the patients cannot begin to get better without the help and cooperation of practitioners. Interpersonal relationships are critical for positive patient outcomes and this begins from the first moment of introduction and continues from that moment on. The trust and connection need to be there from start to finish and is not always easy if you only have a short amount of time with the client. According to Fawcett & Desanto-Madeya (2013), Peplau saw that both the nurse and the patient participate in and contribute to a relationship and, further, that the relationship itself could be therapeutic (p. 382). This simply means that the nurse-patient relationship could be beneficial for the patients in their healing process. Trust is absolutely necessary to properly educate, advocate, and lead the patient to their hospitalization. For many of my patients, I am there when they first hear their babies’ heart beat; I educate them regarding how to care for themselves throughout their pregnancies. Cultivation of an effective therapeutic relationship in