Theories offer a logical way of understanding situations, events and human behavior. Patient care, particularly psychiatric care, warrants nurse practitioners to clearly understand the case background and current circumstances to give conscientious care to the patients and their family members. Theories guide practicing nurses to shape their personal philosophy, behavior and work ethics to fit into the realm of certain established principles and procedures of nursing care. A wide range of nursing theories introduced to nursing professionals during their training helps them to select a particular theory that suits their aspiration and passion to inspire their career development goals. Different theories embrace dissimilar viewpoints, and it is up to the practicing nurses to arrive at certain personal concepts that drive them to provide a respectful and safe patient care.
Importance of Nursing Theory
Theories are quite important in guiding professional nurses to do a conceptualized practice that transforms healthcare. Basically, nursing theories provide practicing nurses certain helpful principles that add value to their profession. Practicing nurses often play the dual role of providing patient care and functioning as an organizational employee, which often leads to setting competing goals in the two different roles (Jones, 2010). Besides, in the light of medical science taking a multidisciplinary approach to provide high quality healthcare, nursing professionals are also compelled to maintain their professional boundaries. For example, sometimes nurses may be required to carry out certain responsibilities previously taken up by doctors that prompts them to delegate some of their own responsibilities to nursing assistants. Since the professional boundaries of nursing continue to change, it is important that nurses define their roles and responsibilities conveniently, thanks to nursing theories that give them due identities. Nursing theories also help managers, other healthcare professionals and the patients to recognize the contributions of nurses and understand their roles clearly.
Summary of Role Modeling Theory
The Role Modeling Theory propounded by Erickson motivates nurses to nurture and care for their patients with due respect and awareness on their uniqueness. This theory draws inspiration and concepts from Abraham Maslow’s Theory of human needs. The basic concept of Role Modeling Theory is holism, which is a belief that individual patients are a sum total of their body, mind, emotion and spirit. Secondly, the theory believes that patients are driven by the necessity to fulfill their basic needs. On not meeting one’s basic needs, a person feels distressed which results in illness. Thirdly, the theory recognizes affiliated individuation, which suggests that all individuals are motivated by a need to get recognition while depending on a support system till the end of their life; at the same time, individuals continue to maintain a sense of freedom. Fourthly, attachment and loss is an idea that individuals have an inborn attachment with certain objects that meet their regular needs. Loss or no accesses to these objects make individuals grieve and anxious.
Role Modeling Theory on Psychiatric Nursing
Applying Role Modeling Theory in psychiatric nursing practice calls for practitioners to accept their patients unconditionally and recognize their rights, and value their points of view. Seeing the patient as a fellow human being who too is part of the common universal spirit helps nurse practitioners to see them as individuals who are much more than what they appear to be. Secondly, the needs and choices of each patient are shaped by their unique views of life and the world. Similarly, a patient’s decision about healthcare depends on his family background, experiences and family relationships and genetic characters. Thus, nurse professionals can become role models through adopting individualized approaches to care for their patients (Baas, 2012). Thirdly, nurses involved in psychiatric care should understand that their patients long for self-respect and recognition. They should respect their sense of freedom and act as facilitators rather than controllers of their day to day activities.
Conclusion
Nursing theories assist nurses by providing them with a flawless framework to act. Taking inspiration from the identity nursing theories give to nurse practitioners, they do a more patient-centric service by respecting the points of view of patients. Nursing theories also motivate nurses to clearly understand their role and purpose. Role Modeling Theory motivates nurse practitioners involved in psychiatric healthcare to promote a feeling of worthiness in patients. They also help nurses to view their job with a highly professional outlook, and build trusting relationships with patients.
References
Baas, L. (2012). Last word: Patient and family centered care. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing.31 (1): 67-68
Jones, L. T. (2010). A Holistic Framework for Nursing Time: Implications for Theory, Practice, and Research. Nurse Forum, 45 (3): 185-196
