The Concept of Transition and Its Relation to Mastectomy Patients

For a nurse to be successful it is important to bring theory to practice. This includes recognizing key fundamental nursing concepts for which practice is based on. A central concept in nursing is facilitating transition (Kralik, Visentin, &Van Loon, 2006). Nurses often enter a client’s life at a pivotal point; the point a client is going through a transition. A transition has often been defined as a process of convoluted passage where people redefine and redevelop their sense of self and self-agency in response to disruptive life events (Kralik, Visentin, &Van Loon, 2006). In this paper I will seek to define the concept of transition through different approaches, and how this is crucial to our future practice as registered nurses. Transition will also be explored in relation to the population group of patients who are undergoing, or have undergone mastectomies.

Defining Transition

Transition, derived from the Latin word transition, means going across, passage over time, subject, place to another, or stage; that is to change. Transition is frequently used to describe a process of change in a person’s life; be it developmental stages, or alterations in health and social circumstances. Except transition is not just another word for change; it is a psychological process involved in adaptation to disruptions and events (Kralik, Visentin, &Van Loon, 2006). A successful transition ends in feelings of distress being replaced with a sense of well-being around the change (Kralik, Visentin, &Van Loon, 2006).

Each transition is complex, unique, and has multiple dimensions, and consists of several essential properties (Meleis, Sawyer, Im, Messias, & Schumacher, 2000). These properties include awareness, engagement, change and differen...

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