Nursing theories provide a foundation for the development of individuals’ personal philosophies of care, work ethic, and one’s behavior and treatment of patients.This paper will focus on two nursing theories, authors’ backgrounds, and their interaction with the four concepts of nursing, people (patient), health, environment, and nursing.
Science of Unitary of Human Beings
This theory explains the four metaparadigm concepts of nursing as follows:
Person/Patient- This is an individual that possesses his/her own integrity and is unified whole possessing different characteristics that are a sum of his/her individual parts.
Environment- this is a non-linear field that interacts with patients and which is integral in human interactions.
Health- This is an expression or manifestation of the life process. As such, it is the attributes and characteristics that emerge from the interaction between human and environmental fields.
Nursing- This is the study of both human and environmental fields, that is, individuals and their world.
These metaparadigm concepts are elaborated in the theory in that both person and environment interact to develop the observable characteristics that provide the basis of an individual’s health. Nursing, therefore, seeks to ensure individuals achieve their fullest potential by promoting health and well-being.
This theory contributes significantly to the nursing profession, as it allows nurses observe the interactions between their patients and the environment in order to improve their experience. This knowledge serves as an important consideration in research and practice as it is a combination of both science and art, where the former is based on the knowledge aspects of the practice, while the latter focuses on the creative application of this knowledge.
Interpersonal Relations Theory
Hildegard Elizabeth Peplau was the author of the interpersonal theory. She was the first published theorist in nursing after Florence Nightingale (Alligood, 2014). Her theory revolutionized scholarly nurse work and became known as the Mother of Psychiatric Nursing and Nurse of the Century (Alligood, 2014).
The interpersonal relations theory indicates that the main purpose of nursing lies in assisting individuals identify their challenges or difficulties, and how nurses can apply human relations principles to address any problems that may arise.
The following are the definitions provided to the four main metaparadigms in nursing:
People/Patient- This is an individual with a felt need and strives to reduce the tension generated from its situation.
Health- This is an indication of the advancement motion of personality created from the interaction of human processes that progress creative, productive, personal, constructive and community living.
Environment- Although this element is not explicitly discussed, the author encourages nurses to take into consideration patients’ culture in order to enhance their advancement to hospital routine.
Nursing- According to Peplau, nursing is a therapeutic process that involves the interaction between an unwell individual and a nurse who can attend to their needs.
These four metaparadigms are evident in the theory as patients and nurses interact professionally to identify the former’s needs and in doing so, improves their health. The basis of this patient-nurse relationship is enhanced by the consideration of a patient’s environment in terms of culture by the nurse.
This theory advances the nursing practice as it provides a basis for the establishment of a therapeutic patient-nurse relationship. As such, various problem-solving techniques are identified and both nurses and patients collaborate to solve their problems.
References
Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work. Missouri: Elsevier.
Smith, M. C., &Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing theories & nursing practice. Philadelphia: F.A Davis Company.
