In 1970, Betty Neuman developed her own theory to provide nursing educators and students with a new concept of human experience and health (Parker, 2006, p. 281). “The Neuman Systems Model provides a comprehensive, flexible, holistic, and systems-based perspective for nursing” (Neuman as quoted in Parker, 2006, p. 282). This theory has many implications for clinical use, and it lends itself to use in many nursing situations. The Neuman Systems model describes an individual as “a system capable of intake of extrapersonal and interpersonal factors from the external environment. He [or she] interacts with this environment by adjusting himself [or herself] to it, or adjusting it to himself [or herself]” (Neuman, 1982, p. 14) This systemic model makes use of many other concepts, such as stressors, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, and lines of defense. These concepts create the structure for a person and that individual’s healthcare, and their relation to existing biological factors of humans provides Neuman’s model and ability to be both easily explained and readily accepted as part of American healthcare.
Neuman views a human being as a system in order to explain the interaction that an individual has with an environment as being an instance when a stressor crosses one of the individual’s lines of defense. Stressors are “various disruptive forces oprating within or upon [a client system]” (Parker, 2006, p. 282). In order to fend off these stressors, Neuman proposed the existence of lines of defense which inherently protect the client system. “Each individual client-client system has evolved a normal range of response to the environment that is referred to as a normal line of defense” (Parker, 2006, p. 283). She addition...
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... model effectively communicates the etiology of various illness and states of health to clients, regardless of a client’s educational level. It also helps provide structure for nursing scholarship and research in a variety of situations as evidenced by its use for nursing leadership in Pennsylvania. Neuman’s model will remain an integral part of American nursing for many years to come.
Betty Neuman and Martha Rogers both espoused differing theories during the 1970s, but when viewed side-by-side, one sees that they have many things in common when it comes to viewing how nurses should view both the practice of nursing and the client. For instance, both theories view nursing as a distinct entity from medicine. “Rogers urged nurses to develop autonomous, community-based nursing centers” (Parker, 2006, p. 165). According to Parker, Neuman also desired this same goal.
In order to understand middle range theories, a practical knowledge of the definition should be achieved before attempting to applying to concepts or classifications to the models. Middle range theories are defined as, theories that are fundamentally individual while incorporating a controlled amount of assumptions furthermore, having a limited characteristic of reality. These concepts are defined and may be tested (McEwen & Wills, 2011 p. 35).
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.
The Neuman Systems Model provides a systematic approach to nursing research and practice that allows for empirical research and data collection. This model has been used to develop several middle range theories; it also encourages evidence-based practice and outcomes (Ume-Nwagbo, DeWan, & Lowry, 2006). Neuman (2007, p. 112) states, “Theory-based care activities will scientifically validate a science of nursing, helping close the gap between practice and education.” Continued research is needed to support and refine the concepts that produce theory-based nursing interventions in nursing practice. The Neuman Systems Model Research Institute is committed to encouraging research that is focused on obtaining new nursing knowledge based on the Neuman Systems Model and derived middle-range theories (Neuman & Fawcett,
McIntyre, M. & McDonald, C. (2014). Nursing Philosophies, Theories, Concepts, Frameworks, and Models. In Koizer, B., Erb, G., Breman, A., Snyder, S., Buck, M., Yiu, L., & Stamler, L. (Eds.), Fundamentals of Canadian nursing (3rd ed.). (pp.59-74). Toronto, Canada: Pearson.
“Henderson had the pioneering view that nursing stands separately from medicine and that nursing consists of more than simply following physicians’ orders” (Nicely, & DeLario, 2011). Virginia Henderson’s nursing theor...
My philosophy of nursing incorporates knowledge, compassion, competence, and respect for each patient. It is based on my personal and professional experiences, both of which have helped me to positively contribute to a patient’s recovery and wellness. These are the attributes that give me a sense of pride and strengthen my commitment to the nursing profession. This paper explores my values and beliefs relating to a patient’s care, as well as, the responsibilities of health professionals.
Although many stipulations and expectations of the nursing profession are predetermined through regulatory authorities and organizations, there is a deeper meaning to this profession and the care that it provides. For decades, nursing theorists have had an impact on the care that this profession delivers; however, it is also important for every practicing nurse to explore themselves and their personal thoughts and feelings on the profession they have chosen. As a nurse, I have been able to search myself and determine what nursing means to me and apply it in my daily interactions with my coworkers, patients, families, and the community in which I serve. The nursing metaparadigm serves as a framework on discovering and exploring these thoughts and values as it introduces four concepts: nursing, health, person, and environment. Nursing care is a delicate and integral balance of various components within these concepts. Nurses provide care to others during some of the most difficult times of life. Because of this, it is imperative to understand the meaning and application of these concepts and be able to apply that knowledge to the care we provide as a profession. As a nurse, it is important to realize that the care we provide is an extension of what we learn from textbooks; nursing care encompasses an understanding and acceptance of others as well as a continual willingness to help and improve society.
Nursing is a multidisciplinary career that encompasses many different aspects into one to be able to provide the best care possible for all patients. Nurses are caregivers, counselors, advisors, teachers, and more, but to be able to do the job of a nurse one must put into perspective the person or patient, the environment, health, and the nurse. These four concepts together create the Nursing Metaparadigm. These concepts directly influence how a nurse will perform care to a patient and the type of nursing practice that will be demonstrated by that nurse. Each concept above may vary from one theorist to another, but they are the most common concepts in all of the nursing theories. While some concepts are more important each concept will influence
Virginia Henderson developed the nursing need theory, which focuses on increasing the patient’s independence to speed up the recovery process (Alligood and Tomey, 2009). This is where my theory begins to connect with hers. Our main duty as nurses is to provide care for the patient while they are unable to care for themselves and facilitate them to be the best individual they can be. For this reason nursing is both a science and an art. It is a science in that nurses must understand the disease processes that are affecting the patient’s health, they must also practice based on evidence that is defended by science, and know how to operate equipment and machines. However, it is an art because it requires unique care for each patient, and each nurse is going to provide care in a slightly different way. The nurse is responsible for following the health care providers plan of care, but the nurse provides the creativity that provides the individualized care. The ultimate goal of nursing is to provide care to facilitate the patient in retaining or maintaining their maximal level of
Her educational background includes a diploma as a Registered Nurse from People’s Hospital School of Nursing in Ohio (1947), Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Major in Mental Health/Public Health, Minor in Psychology, from University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) (1957), and Master of Science in Mental Health from UCLA (1966). She became engaged in a graduate work for UCLA in the Mental Health/Public Health Consultation where she gained interest in community mental health as an emerging avenue for nursing practice. She was eventually appointed as the chair for UCLA’s Mental Health/Public Health Program and began teaching and developing a course to help graduate students focus on specific nursing problem areas. The outcomes of her labor led to the development of Neuman Systems Model (NSM) which focused on the client-environment interaction. Furthermore, Neuman’s mental health consultant role was not specified as nursing role, thus, influenced NSM’s applicability to various health professions and other
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
Nursing theory is best described as a conceptualization of some aspect of nursing communicated for the purpose of describing, explaining, predicting, and/or prescribing nursing care (Potter & Perry, 2009). One of the most world renown-nursing theorists, Dorothea Orem, believed in the self-care theory, which directs it’s attention on the aspect the self-care needs of the client (2009). As a registered nurse, along with many other accomplishments, she began brewing her theory that guided many nursing schools/institutions in their program of studies. As a nurse, she felt it was necessary to do the things for patients they could not do on their own (Tiaki, 2008). Tiaki feels Orem’s theory is efficient because this theory will help patients to learn the tasks they are unable to do from the nurses, teaching them how to care for themselves (2008). The purpose of this paper is to describe Orem’s historical background, describe her self-care theory, and describe how her theory can be applied into nursing today.
Nursing theory can be used to empower nurses by giving autonomy and improve skills. With the rise of healthcare, administrative decisions involving nurses could have a negative effect on patient care. There are four concepts that make up the nursing metaparadigm, person, environment, health and nursing and act as the model for nursing care. All theories in the nursing practice proves valuable within the profession but may vary between different theorists depending on what their beliefs are. Some theorists can view the same situation entirely different. Both Rogers and Neuman were theorist that developed theories for viewing and caring for patients but in two different ways. Professionalization, coherence, and enhanced communication are three arguments when determining the importance of theory in nursing. Multi-disciplinary nursing becomes necessary to achieve positive patient
Nursing theories are the support of nursing practice today. They are significant to nursing practice, education and scientific research because they help to determine, what is already known, and what additional knowledge and skills are needed. Nurses are usually first exposed to nursing theories during nursing education and further exposure comes from hands on training. The gained knowledge, about nursing theories, through education and training enhances better outcomes for patients and caregivers, allows application of professional boundaries, and assists in decision making. In this paper I will attempt to analyze, in general, the importance of nursing theory to the nursing profession; discuss middle-range theory, furthermore Benner’s model of skill acquisition, and how this theory addresses nursing’s metaparadigm; and how this theory views nursing education.
Research has demonstrated that nursing practice guided by theory from a perspective of nursing and caring has shown “improved patient and nurse satisfaction, and improvement in institutional reputation.” (Dyess et al., 2013, p. 167) Nursing theories specifically are created and shaped to describe this phenomenon called nursing. Afaf Meleis defines nursing theory as “a conceptualization of some aspect of nursing reality communicated for the purpose of describing phenomena, explaining relationships between phenomena, predicting consequences, or prescribing nursing care.” (Meleis, 2012, chap.