Nursing Theory
Nursing theory is taught in most nursing schools, yet, do you know which model you practice under? Understanding nursing theory and models of care may help you regain a focus on your own nursing career.
I have visited several chat rooms where participants were grappling with the question as to whether they were actually using any of the models of care they had studied in school. Perhaps 1/3 believed they were consciously using a specific model and many others had never given thought to this once graduated from school.
The realities of the profession today with such issues as long work hours and too many patients has perhaps taken away our focus on where patient care really belongs.
...in the forefront of our thoughts. For those of you struggling to find reason to remain in the profession, perhaps a refocus on the theories of why we do what we do may help.
I have listed the theories below and will continue to add links where you can access more information about each.
Early Nursing Theorists
Florence Nightingales' is well known to all nursing students I think. Born in Florence, Italy in 1820 she is responsible for bringing the nursing profession "up" in recognition as a worthy and vital profession for women. She has been called one of the major forerunners of nursing theory.
Though her thoughts on how germs originated may not have been exact, she was quite correct in how to prevent infection. She new that the environment played a role in an individuals state of health. She had strong influence on hospital planning and organization which greatly reduced illness and death to to transmission of infections.
Her book, "Notes on Nursing: What it is Not" is well worth reading.
Virginia Henderson is best known for her Definition of Nursing. Born in 1897 and died in 1996 she wrote several issues of "Principles and Practice of Nursing Care". She was also one of the first to point out that nursing involved more than just following doctors' orders.
Needs / Problem Oriented Theorists
F. Nightingale - environmental
F.G. Abdellah - health, nursing problems (21), problem solving
V. Hendersom - definition of nursing; 14 components of basic nursing
D.E. Orem - Theory of self care
L.E. Hall - the care circle, the core circle, the cure circle
J. Watson - human caring; 10 carative factors
Systems Oriented Theorists
D.E. Johnson - behavioral systems
C. Roy - adaptation model (physiological, self-concept, role function, interdependence)
B. Neuman - systems model
M.E. levine - adaptation, conservation, integrity
M.M. Leininger - cultural care diversity & universality
Interaction Oriented Theorists
H.E. Peplau - phases of the nurse-patient relationship
I.J. Orlando - deliberative nursing process; patient behavior, nurse reaction, nurses's action
E. Wiedenbach - prescriptive theory (central purpose, prescription, realities)
I.M. King - general (open) systems (personal, interpersonal, social)
J.E. Paterson & L.T. Zderad - humanistic nursing theory; phenomenologic nursology
H.C. Erickson, E.M. Tomlin & M.A.P. Swain - modeling and role-modeling
A. Boykin & S. Schoenhofer - nursing as caring
Energy Field Theorists
M.E. Rogers - principles of homeodynamics (integrality, resonancy, helicy); science of unitary human beings
R.R. Parse - man-living-health; human becoming
M. Newman - health as expanding consciousness
Other
N. Pender - health promotion model
R. Ruban - clinical nursing
Nursing Theory Links
These sites provide further and more in-depth information around theorists and nursing models of care www.nursingtheory.net www.enursescribe.com/nurse_theorists.html
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