Dorothy Johnson, born in 1919, graduated from nursing school in 1938. Since then, she has published several books and journals to enlighten more on the nursing profession. It is in one of her editions that she came up with the behavioral system model widely consulted by scholars in nursing. To be precise, development of the model by Johnson was in progress for almost all of her professional life (Johnson 1990).
According to Johnson’s model, a person is comprised of several related behavioral components (Claywell). The person is regarded to as the system, while, the behavioral components are the subsystems. The subsystems influence each other, in addition to influence by, the environment. This being the case, it is a large task to ensure a balance in the behavioral system. Johnson’s model aimed at restoring the system balance (Butts & rich 2010).
According to the system, human beings are active organisms that are in constant search of new experiences with each subsystem aiming at achieving a set goal (Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya). Also, human beings determine the limit of interaction with the environment and adjust themselves in such a way as to adapt to the environment in which they are in for better functioning. These are some of the facts upon which Dorothy based the behavioral system model.
The seven subsystems of the system include attachment, dependency, ingestive, eliminative, sexual, and aggressive and achievement behaviors. An eighth component, restorative behavior, was later added (claywell).The different components are linked in such a way that any disturbance to one of the components may lead to disturbance of the other components.Some of the sources regarded as those of external sources of disturbance include tension, stress strain and conflict. The influence of these instability sources often leads to automatic adjustment for restoration of balance in the system (Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya 2012).
Order, prediction and carrying out purpose oriented tasks are some of the indicators of the stability of a system. With set objective, a system carries out tasks in organized manner. To top it up, the system ends the process of continuing with the task uponreaching a certain point. A system is predictable when a certain deed is seen to be repeated at a certain point while carrying out the task.
A human being is believed to have two systems, the biological and behavioral system. Nursing deals with the behavioral while medicine deals with the biological system. The goal of nursing, according to Johnson is to assess the within and external environment so as to develop what is in the best interest for the patient (Johnson 1990). Once there is a disability in the stability of a system’s subsystems, nursing comes in so as to restore the system back to the maximum stability level. This is achieved by the actions involved in nursing, whose aim is the restoration of the equilibrium.
The model developed by Dorothy Johnson has been of great help to both scholars and those in the nursing profession. It has helped to understand the importance of a healthy environment and, more so, the goal of nursing. The mode has also helped to elaborate on the nurse’s orientation of a person health in comparison to a doctor’s orientation. In a nutshell, the model is of great importance to the nursing fraternity in the understanding of the responsibilities at hand as a nurse.
Works cited
Butts J. & Rich K., (2010).Philosophies and Theories for Advanced Nursing Practice.Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Claywell L., (2013). LPN to RN Transitions(2nd edition).Missouri: Mosby.
Fawcett J., DeSanto-Madeya S., (2012).Contemporary Nursing Knowledge: Analysis and Evaluation of Nursing Models and Theories.Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.
Johnson, D. E. (1990).The behavioral system model for nursing. Nursing theories in practice (pp. 23-32). New York: National League for Nursing.
