Nursing Theorists and Their Work
This book chapter introduces several nurses who made significant contributions to early nursing knowledge. It covers their philosophies and theories, like Peplau's interpersonal relations and Henderson's basic needs, highlighting their impact on nursing practice and research.
Readers will:
- Understand the history of nursing theory.
- Learn about influential early nursing theorists.
- Grasp the core concepts of their theories and models.
Core Content:
1. Hildegard E. Peplau: Interpersonal Relations Theory
- Viewpoint: The nurse-patient relationship is a "significant, therapeutic interpersonal process."
- Explanation: Peplau identified four phases: orientation, identification, exploitation, and resolution. She also described six nursing roles: stranger, resource person, teacher, leader, surrogate, and counselor.
- Example: Helping a patient understand their anxiety and develop coping mechanisms.
2. Virginia Henderson: Definition of Nursing
- Viewpoint: The nurse assists individuals, sick or well, in performing activities contributing to health or peaceful death, helping them gain independence as rapidly as possible.
- Explanation: Henderson outlined 14 basic human needs on which nursing care is based, such as breathing normally, eating adequately, and communicating with others.
- Action Suggestion: Use Henderson's 14 needs to assess a patient's holistic needs.
3. Faye Glenn Abdellah: Twenty-One Nursing Problems
- Viewpoint: Nursing is an art and a science that helps individuals cope with their health needs.
- Explanation: Abdellah formulated 21 nursing problems based on nursing research studies, focusing on patient-centered approaches.
- Example: Ensuring a patient maintains good hygiene and physical comfort.
4. Ernestine Wiedenbach: The Helping Art of Clinical Nursing
- Viewpoint: Nursing is about meeting the patient's perceived need for help with the art of what nurses can do.
- Explanation: Clinical nursing involves four elements: philosophy, purpose, practice, and art. Nurse should observe behaviors for comfort, explore the meaning, determine the cause of unwell-being, and determine whether the patient can solve problems.
- Action Suggestion: Identify patients' need for help observing behaviors.
5. Lydia Hall: Core, Care, and Cure Model
- Viewpoint: Professional nursing care hastens recovery by taking good care of the core feelings of a patient.
- Explanation: Hall used three interlocking circles to represent aspects of the patient and nursing functions: the body, the disease that affects the patient's physical system, and the inner feelings and management of the person.
6. Joyce Travelbee: Human-to-Human Relationship Model
- Viewpoint: The goal of nursing is to assist an individual from their subjective ill experience to coping with illness and finding meaning.
- Explanation: Nursing is accomplished through human-to-human relationships, helping patients find hope.
Q&A
Q: Why is Peplau considered the "mother of psychiatric nursing"?
A: Because her work led to the development of psychiatric nursing as a distinct specialty field.
Q: What are Henderson’s 14 basic needs?
A: These include things like breathing normally, eating and drinking adequately, eliminating body wastes, moving and maintaining desirable postures, sleeping and resting, selecting suitable clothes, maintain body temperature, keep the body clean and well groomed, avoiding dangers, communicating with others, worshipping, working, playing and learning.
Q: What is the Core, Care, and Cure Model?
A: A model made of interlocking circles to represent aspects of the patient and nursing functions, the body that needs care, the disease that needs curing, and the inner-feelings that needed to be felt secure.
