The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the key points of Virginia Henderson’s theory “Concepts of Nursing” (CON) and its application in practice using specific examples. Henderson’s CON is a grand theory written in 1978. (Waller-Wise, 2013) The CON theory provides a definition of nursing care, responsibilities and a focus on specific areas where nursing care is required. (Waller-Wise, 2013) As Henderson (1978) writes, “Nursing is primarily helping people (sick or well) in the performance of those activities contributing to health, or its recovery (or peaceful death) that they would perform unaided if they had the necessary strength, will, or knowledge.” (p.26) It is the role of the nurse to help aid the patient back to independence as soon as possible. (Henderson, 1978) Henderson’s theory can be categorized as an “interactive model”, placing importance on the interpersonal relationships between the nurse and patient. (Tourville, 2003)
Henderson (1978) outlined fourteen different activities of daily living: breathing normally, eating and drinking adequately, elimination of body waste, movement and maintenance of desirable postures, sleep and rest, dressing and undressing, maintaining a normal body temperature and changing the environment, grooming, avoiding environmental danger or injury of others, communication, worship of one’s faith, working toward accomplishment, recreational participation and a learning and discovering curiosity that leads to normal development and maintenance of health. While all of these needs are intertwined when giving care, for the purposes of this paper, these “activities of daily living” (ADLs) will be sorted into different groups: physiological, psychological, spiritual and sociological. (Tourvill...
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...gists, psychiatrists and nurses who work in mental health clinics, CON can be applied to any care setting by making sure ADLs are being met and patients work toward becoming more independent. (Henderson, 1978)
Works Cited
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Henderson, V. (1978). The concept of nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 3, 21-34.
Nicely, B., & DeLario, G. T. (2011). Virginia Henderson's principles and practice of nursing applied to organ donation after brain death. Progress In Transplantation, 21(1), 72-77.
Tourville, C., & Ingalls, K. (2003). The Living Tree of Nursing Theories. Nursing Forum, 38(3), 21-36.
Waller-Wise, R. (2013). Utilizing Henderson's Nursing Theory in Childbirth Education. International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 28(2), 30-34.
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.
Marriner-Tomey, A., & Alligood, M. R. (2006). Nursing theorists and their work. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby/Elsevier.
This paper is a first attempt at forming and articulating my own philosophy of nursing.
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2011). Theoretical basis for nursing (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Walker, L. O., & Avant, K. C. (1995). Strategies for theory construction in nursing (3rd ed.). Norwalk, CT:
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.
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.
Walker, L. O. & Avant, K. C. (2011). Strategies for theory construction in nursing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. (2011). Theoretical Basis for Nursing (3 ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
... middle of paper ... ... Fawcett, J. & Fawcett, J. (2000). The 'Secondary' of the 'Second Analysis and evaluation of contemporary nursing knowledge: Nursing models and theories.
Nursing theories are actions care that a nurse provides to a patient to prevent a sickness, maintain and promote health. Many of the theorists contribute to a frame work or a blueprint of how nurses should provide care to patients. Many these theories are part of nursing care and most of them they go hand in hand. Nursing theory aims to describe, predict and explain the phenomenon of nursing (Chinn and Jacobs1978).Nursing is apprehensive with laws and principles governing the life processes and functioning of sick or well human beings. Nursing theories are beneficial in understanding the knowledge of nursing and its application (Smith and Liehr, 2008).
Hanucharumkul, S. (1989). Comparative analysis of Orem's and King's theories. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 14, 365-172.
Separating the nursing theory from other healthcare professions seems to be a daunting task. One of the main goals in nursing is to promote the healing of patients and the ultimate goals of any healthcare profession would be to ensure that the patients are receiving adequate and substantial healthcare.
Virginia Henderson helped nursing by providing a broad definition of what nursing is and giving a base for all nurses to build upon with other theories that will shape their nursing career. We learned through Henderson that nursing comes down to helping the patient. It is up to the nurse to assist and guide the patient to good health and independence. It is also important that we use other theories we agree with to gain even more knowledge about nursing and its
She first developed an interest in nursing during World War I because she felt an inner need to help wounded and sick soldiers (“Virginia Avenue Henderson – the mother,” 1996). She started her nursing career in 1918 at the US Army School of Nursing and later became a nursing instructor at the Norfolk Protestant Hospital in Virginia (Smith, 1997). Henderson received her education during the empiricist era of nursing, which focused on needs however, she felt her theoretical ideas developed and advanced throughout her nursing career and experiences in the medical surgical unit. This is where she realized the importance of helping the patient return to independence so that recovery can continue after hospitalization. Henderson became familiar first with physiological principals while obtaining her graduate education. The understanding of these components became the major foundation for her care in nursing practice. (McEwen & Wills,