Within the nursing profession, theories continue to make significant contributions to the attainment of professional autonomy by guiding practice, education, and research. This paper will describe, analyze, and argue Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s General Systems Theory (GST) and Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (SCDNT), to compare and contrast their concepts in order to recognize how they are relevant, useful and applicable to the nursing discipline.
Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s General Systems Theory The GST describes how a system works, and is understood as “an organized unit with a set of components that interact and affect each other” (Catalano, 2006, p. 59). A system acts as a whole because of the interdependence of its parts.
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The primary goal of nursing in Orem’s SCDNT is to help the client perform self-care behaviors so that they are able to attain the highest level of human functioning (Catalano, 2006, p. 65). Fundamental to Orem’s SCDNT are three interrelated theories that have their own central ideas with a specific set of propositions and assumptions. The three interrelated theories are the theory of self-care deficit (dependent-care deficit), theory of self-care (dependent-care) and theory of nursing systems (Orem, …show more content…
Through personal experience, “her ideas evolved from observations in practice, with formalization coming from her extensive reading and self-reflection” (Hartweg, 1991, p. 5). She identifies the domain and boundaries of nursing as both an art and a science. Empirical evidence supports Orem’s claim that nurses contribute to “maintaining health, preventing disease and disability, and restoring or maintaining life processes,” by overcoming “health associated human limitations for engagement in self-care or dependent-care” (Orem, 2001, p. 81). It provides ideas that guide the focus of nursing in the healthcare institution, including the purpose of nursing services, the characteristics of nursing personnel, the settings for nursing services, the management strategies, and the administrative policies. Many research instruments and practice tools have been derived from her self-care framework (Fawcett & Madeya, 2013).
She describes all four nursing metaparadigm concepts in her theory with the most concern and emphasis on the person. In Orem’s theory the person is the human being, defined as a biological, psychological, social being with the ability for self-care. The environment is the medium through which the person moves and the nursing metaparadigm is the assistance in self-care activities to help the client achieve health, health being the person’s ability to live
This entails that the professional nurse provide not only ordinary but extraordinary care and support to make it possible for these individuals to achieve their requirements for self-care. Furthermore, the professional nurse judiciously and collaboratively partakes in the individual’s health care provided by the medical doctor. Dorthea Orem understood that individuals possess the natural capability of self-care, and nurses have a duty to place emphasis on enhancing that capability. Nurses who deliver direct care can support these capabilities by offering learning opportunities and teaching methods that enhance self-care activities, therefore contributing a positive and encouraging influence on the individuals and caregivers quality of
In 2005 Fawcett stated “the metaparadigm of professional nursing incorporates four concepts: human beings, environment, health, and nursing” (as sited in Kearney, 2012, p. 4). This paper discusses my philosophy of nursing by stating my own personal definitions, values, and assumptions regarding each of the above mentioned concepts. My paper concludes with an exemplar from my own nursing practice and how I integrated my nursing philosophy into that particular clinical situation.
This paper is a first attempt at forming and articulating my own philosophy of nursing.
... M.A. (2006). Applications of Dorthea Orem's self care deficit nursing theory. In M.E. Parker (Ed.) (2006). Nursing theory and nursing practice (2nd ed., pp. 149-155). Philadelphia: EA. Davis Company.
Around the 1960s, nursing educational leaders wanted to formulate a nursing theory that contained knowledge and basic principles to guide future nurses’ in their practice (Thorne, 2010, p.64). Thus, Jacqueline Fawcett introduced the metaparadigm of nursing. Metaparadigm “identifies the concepts central to the discipline without relating them to the assumptions of a particular world view” (MacIntyre & Mcdonald, 2014). Fawcett’s metaparadigm of nursing included concepts of person, environment, health, and nursing that were interrelated. The metaparadigm ultimately contributed to conceptual framework to guide nurses to perform critical thinking and the nursing process in everyday experiences in clinical settings.
The metaparadigm encompasses the major philosophical orientations of a discipline, the models and theories that guide research, and the empirical indicators that operationalize theoretical concepts. The purpose or function of the metaparadigm is to summarize the intellectual and social mission of the nursing discipline and place boundaries on the subject matter of that discipline (McEwen & Wills, 2014). The four metaparadigm of the discipline of nursing are person or client, environment, health, and nursing (Parker, 2001). A person or client is the recipient of nursing care. The environment is the internal or external surroundings that affect the client. Health is the degree of wellness or well-being that the client experiences. The nursing concept refers to the attributes and actions
Throughout this philosophy paper, I have explored what nursing is based on my personal values and beliefs as it relates to the body of work in nursing. I value the importance of holistic nursing and the care of patients being individualized for them and their family. Also, effectively collaborating among health care professionals to ensure quality care for patients. Additionally, the importance of health promotion as one of the main roles of nurses is being a teacher, since promoting health prevents illness and increases the level of health in clients. These principles will serve as a guide for my personal standards of nursing practice.
The purpose of this paper is to present a personal belief about the metaparadigm of nursing and to incorporate it into that of Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring.
A metaparadigm is an overarching framework that provides a comprehensive perspective of a discipline. In nursing, this framework serves to distinguish the profession intellectually, comprising of four concepts which provide a foundation to the content and context of nursing theory and scope of practice (Lee & Fawcett, 2013; Masters, 2014; Schim, Benkert, Bell, Walker, & Danford, 2007). Namely, these foundational concepts are: person, environment, health, and nursing. Hence, the intent of this essay is to describe the four main concepts that make up nursing’s metaparadigm and discuss how they are used in practice, education and research.
I chose to do a concept analysis on ‘Self-Care.’ The nursing theory that uses this concept is Orem’s theory of nursing. This theory is a grand theory and consists of three minor interrelated theories; self-care, self-care deficit, and nursing systems. (Parker & Smith 2010). Orem defines self-care as when an individual initiates activities and performs to maintain life, health and well-being on their own and self-care deficit as not meeting adequate self-care requisites which include “limitations for knowing, deciding and producing care to self or dependent. (Parker & Smith, 2010)
There are three primary concepts in the SCDNT. The concepts are self-care, self-care deficit and nursing systems (McEwen & Wills, 2011). In addition, authors McEwen and Willis breaks down Orem’s self-care theory with several requisites. They are universal, developmental, health deviation and therapeutic (McEwen & Wills, 2011). Plus, concepts of deliberated action and product of nursing are defined.
To make good nursing decisions, nurses require an internal roadmap with knowledge of nursing theories. Nursing theories, models, and frameworks play a significant role in nursing, and they are created to focus on meeting the client’s needs for nursing care. According to McEwen and Wills (2014), conceptual models and theories could create mechanisms, guide nurses to communicate better, and provide a “systematic means of collecting data to describe, explain, and predict” about nursing and its practice (p. 25). Most of the theories have some common concepts; others may differ from one theory to other. This paper will evaluate two nursing theorists’ main theories include Sister Callista Roy’s
One of the theories of nursing is Dorothea Orem’s self-care theory, also called the self-care deficit theory. Nursing theories are important for several reasons. The profession is strengthened when knowledge is built on sound theory (Black, 2014). Theory is important for reasoning, thinking, decision-making, and supporting excellence in practice (Black, 2014). Dorothea Orem’s theory is a conceptual model that provides a structure for critical thinking in the nursing process (Black, 2014). A conceptual model provides a comprehensive and holistic perspective of nursing (Black, 2014). Orem published her theory in 1959 and continued to develop her model, eventually formalizing three interrelated theories: theory of self-care, theory of self-care deficit, and theory of nursing system (Black, 2014). The focus of Orem’s model is the patient’s self-care capacity. The process helps to design a nursing process specific to each patient that will provide for the self-care deficit of the patient (Black, 2014). Self-care deficits exist when the patient has limitations and the self-care requirement is greater than he patient’s capacity (Manzini & Simonetti, 2009).
Nursing entails self- directed and cooperative health care for the society at large in all contexts. It includes the promotion of appropriate practices to enhance health, prevention of diseases,
In the practice of nursing, needs are an everyday phenomenon and are a common theme among many nursing theories accessible today. These nursing theories help implement care planning of the patient needs for the best possible outcome. Some examples of need theories include Virginia Henderson’s Nursing Needs Theory and Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (McEwen & Wills, 2011).