Nursing Theories, Components, and Meta-Paradigms

Nurses are healthcare providers who are mainly concerned with the well-being of patients in the hospital. In this practice, they are governed by nursing theories, which give them a framework to shape their scope of practice and care. Nursing theories give nurses a foundation for making important decisions in the clinic. This essay discusses the four nursing theories, their application in current health, their components, and the associated meta-paradigm.

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale is recognized as the founder of nursing theories. She interacted with patients during the Crimean war, and this led her to make the conclusion that the environment is critical to a patient. After these observations, she came up with the environment theory and wanted to demonstrate how the surrounding of a sick person contributes to their health status. The environment metaparadigm, in theory, emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to maintain a conducive state in the hospital. Other meta paradigms, in theory, include health, person, and nursing (Gregory et al., 2022). The person is the victim who has an ailing condition being treated by the nurse. The surrounding environment has a direct impact on the patients and determines the rate of recovery. The health status is maintained by controlling the influencing factors of the environment.

Five environmental components considered include pure water, fresh air, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and direct sunlight. The hospital setup should be equipped with fresh air circulation to maintain purity. Further, clean water for all domestic use reduces the emergence of diseases such as diarrhea transmitted due to exposure to contaminated water. Nurses must advocate for specialized diets for patients and a quiet environment free from disturbing music.

Nightingale’s nursing principles of care are still applied nowadays in the health profession. Nurses in the hospital maintain the environmental factors constant for quality care services. Before the diagnosis process, they apply an accepted code of ethics to communicate effectively with patients. These communication skills make the interaction process free and fair. In summary, the theory focuses on the effect of environmental components and how they influence the sick.

Virginia Henderson

Virginia Henderson’s theory is concerned with the attribute of need to the patients. Virginia wanted to demonstrate the need for independence in the patient toward the recovery journey (Agudelo-Cifuentes et al., 2022). The major focus is the basic needs required while in the hospital and at home by the patients. The main metaparadigm discussed in this theory is nursing. A nurse has a unique role in assisting the sick in performing some duties which lead to recovery.

The components of the theory advocate for the satisfaction of all the basic needs a person desire in their life. Concurrently, the sick, despite their condition, must be provided with care. They should be provided with food to boost their body’s energy. They should be able to eliminate waste and breath normally without restrictions (Agudelo-Cifuentes et al., 2022). A suitable dressing code in correspondence with the weather changes should be maintained to maintain body temperatures within normal range. The surrounding environment must be free from danger and harm from external factors.

In modern care health, Virginia Henderson’s theory is applicable in a variety of ways. Nurses in the hospital aim to create patients’ independence through preventive care and education. Awareness of effective lifestyles is made by implementing regular exercise and a balanced diet at home. Cases of diseases like pressure and diabetes require monitoring through medication and regular checkups. The supplementary care services have enabled the sick to manage their conditions reducing the burden of insufficient nurses in the healthcare systems.

Martha Rogers

Martha views nursing as both a science and an art in the existing universe. Human beings are viewed as unitary and cannot be separated from their environment. The scientific nature of nursing originates from knowledge acquired through scientific research (Shang et al., 2022). The art concepts involve the application of creativity to improve the health status of human beings. The metaparadigms of nursing, patient, environment, and patient are well utilized in this theory.

Components associated with Martha’s ideas imply that patients can take part in the process of change as it affects them implicitly. The surrounding coexists with unitary beings, and it is irreducible. Personality development is associated with humanistic psychology, and the experiences in current life determine our response to various phenomena. Additionally, emotions and internal thoughts are affected by new and unique stimuli in nature.

Nowadays, Martha Rogers’s theory’s principles have brought major improvements in hospitals. Scientific research has come up with new methods to fight emerging diseases such as the COVID-19 virus. The invention of vaccines has reduced death rates and infection in many countries. Creativity has led to customized preventive measures such as wearing face masks and frequent washing of hands. Patients have been educated on how to respond to changing environmental conditions for disease prevention. For instance, during the rainy seasons, they need to dress warmly to maintain standard body temperatures.

Imogene King’s

Imogene’s theory mainly examines the interpersonal relationship between the nurse and the patient. This contributes to positive personal growth, where information is shared between the two parties involved (Rivera-Rojas et al., 2021). The nurses and patients set goals that require actions for fulfillment. Further, it elaborates on how healthcare providers utilize their experience information to create insight into the clients. The metaparadigms associated with this theory include environment, nursing, person, and health. The nurse is the main actor who is part of the patient’s environment. During the assessment, interactions between the two enable diagnosis for better health.

King based her theory on four major elements, which give a clear hint about the functioning of the theory. Firstly, for effective interaction between the nurse and the sick, there must be an existing mutual relationship between the two individuals. Interacting with new health workers needs time for confidence and privacy before sharing confidential information (Rivera-Rojas et al., 2021). Further, the nurse and patient should develop a personal understanding of their unique attributes and behavior. This makes it easy to handle emerging issues by adopting the new ideas generated. The set goals must have a common aim, and equal efforts toward achieving them should be made. Lastly, since the nurse is well equipped with knowledge and skills, they should guide the patients on the most appropriate approaches.

This theory is utilized in current healthcare to guide and counsel patients. Some health conditions require extra effort on what should be practiced in a particular setup. For instance, older patients are vulnerable to some exercises like intensive running. Therefore, goals such as walking for some measured distance for a day can help them maintain their health. Additionally, patients presenting with mental health conditions are advised on activities that can help them by keeping a record of events, like the number of times to see a therapist.

The rapid emergence of health conditions such as chronic sickness has caused major threats to the health sector. This has called for the need for specialized patient care to reduce the number of inpatients. Nurses, in their efforts to offer care, have utilized the existing nursing theories. They have adopted conducive environments free from distractors. Basic needs, including food, clothing, and safety, have been a priority. Generally, improved patient care and services have been realized as the overall benefit.

References

Agudelo-Cifuentes, M. C., Berbesi-Fernández, D. Y., & Salazar-Maya, Á. M. (2022). Preparation of a scale for assessing nursing care needs independent people. Aquichan, 22(3), 1–22. Web.

Gregory, D. D., Stichler, J. F., & Zborowsky, T. (2022). Adapting and creating healing environments: Lessons nurses have learned from the covid-19 pandemic. Nurse Leader, 20(2), 201–207. Web.

Rivera-Rojas, F., Ceballos-Vásquez, P. A., & González-Palacios, Y. (2021). Psychosocial risks and job satisfaction: A meaningful relationship for oncology workers. Aquichan, 21(1), 1–10. Web.

Shang, S., Li, D., Hou, L., Yu, M., & Wang, Z. (2022). Interdisciplinarity catalyzes the sustained development of the nursing discipline. Interdisciplinary Nursing Research, 1(1), 3–5. Web.