Virginia Henderson's nursing theory (Essay Sample)

Virginia Henderson's nursing theory Name: Institution: Virginia Henderson's nursing theory Nursing concepts can be employed to clinical circumstances when taking of patients. To aid nurses make efficient clinical assessments in offering the best health care, awareness of nursing models and theories are utilized in their process of decision-making. To investigate a nursing concept, this paper will assess Henderson's nursing theory, its origins plus key components of the concept, its application to nursing, and general evaluation of the theory. Nursing theory refers to information of structured facts, laws, and principles linked to nursing experiences. Virginia Henderson's work is regard as a nursing concept since it encompasses a nursing definition, a nurse's function and the role, and essential nursing care needs. She focuses upon a patient's healthcare to assist them attain a degree of independence, and she supports her description with the fourteen elements of simple nursing care (Henderson, 1966). Henderson's nursing definition was printed in The Principles and Practice of Nursing. Virginia Henderson indicated that a nurse's unique role is to help a person, well or sick, in performing those activities that contribute to her or his health or recuperation (or to a pacific death), which he or she perform unassisted if he or she had the necessary will, strength, or information (Henderson, 1966). Henderson's essential nursing care In 1966, The Nature of Nursing: A Definition and Its Implications for Practice, Research and Education issued Henderson's 14 essential nursing care components (Halloran & Thorson, 1996) they include: 1 Breath normally 2 Drink and Eat adequately 3 Eradicate body wastes 4 Move about and maintain necessary positions. 5 Sleep and rest. 6 Choose suitable clothes and unclothe. 7 Maintain body heat within the standard range through adjusting clothing plus adjusting the environment. 8 Maintain a clean body, well groomed, plus shield the integument. 9 Evade dangers within the environment plus avoid harming others. 10 Connect with others through expressing emotions, fears, needs, or sentiments. Worship with regard to one's religion. Work to attain a sense of achievement. Participate in different recreation forms. Learn, find out, or please the curiosity, which results to standard growth and health, plus utilize the existing health facilities. Henderson's work may be viewed as a nursing philosophy. She explains her views and opinions of simple nursing care that is printed in The Nature of Nursing: Reflections after 25 Years. Henderson also defines the nurses' affiliation to the patient through three levels in which the nurse works as a helper, partner, and substitute with the patient. Virginia Henderson affirms that the nurse should "get inside the skin of each of her patients in order to know what he needs”. According to Henderson (1991), an outstanding nurse can be evaluated through the following: * Reduced mortality rates amid those she attends. * Reduced morbidity rates in regard to certain illnesses or conditions, for instance, impetigo in babies, rickets in kids, and puerperal sepsis within mothers. * Reduction in nursing neglect symptoms such as incontinence or pressure sores. * Reduction in mental withdrawal symptoms, for example, mutism or negativism. * Reduction in reliance regarding daily undertakings or the level of rehabilitation attained. * Positive opinions of health care provided by the nurse to a patient as articulated by the patient's family, other nurses, patients or attendant medical personnel. Henderson's theory of nursing focuses upon the problems of the patient, nursing educating, and nursing care. Virginia's contributions to nursing practice and education influenced the nursing development. Nursing Theory Origins Theory development Henderson concept is vital to nursing. Henderson is recognized as the Mother of Modern Nursing. Henderson's definition started before the ‘20's when Henderson was at an Army Nursing School as a nursing learner. Her clinical practice and nursing education helped influence plus shape the historical development of her description. Whereas Henderson abetted the sick, as well as wounded soldiers in WW1 she recognized nursing was more about the magnitude of quickly finishing nursing procedures (Henderson, 1960). Correspondingly, Henderson's nursing involvement in psychiatric was unsuccessful in providing insight on illness prevention. In pediatric health care, support of the family was not considered in the patient needs. In communal health nursing, her experiences encompassed the environment plus an individual's lifestyle. Once Henderson graduated in 1921, her education encompassed involvements in nursing, research and teaching, and nursing colleagues' influences that steered her to describe a nurse's function and role (Henderson, 1966). Henderson's definition is realized in other nursing concepts, for instance, the theory of Orem's self-care deficit and model of Orlando's nursing process. In 1953, Leo Simmons and Henderson's work in nursing development was printed in Nursing Research: A Survey and Assessment and Nursing Studies Index. Virginia continued to build upon her theory development all through her life while educating future nursing experts. Henderson's values and beliefs about nursing Henderson's nursing definition and the fourteen basic nursing needs define her beliefs and values that can be explained in the following account: "I believe that the function the nurse performs is primarily an independent one-that of acting for the patient when he lacks knowledge, physical strength, or the will to act for himself as he would ordinarily act in health, or in carrying out prescribed therapy. This function is seen as complex and creative, as offering unlimited opportunity for the application of the physical, biological, and social sciences, and the development of skills based on them.” Henderson's beliefs and values about nursing incorporate a nurse's duty to offer the best healthcare for a patient; sustaining a patient's health balance; and cultivating skills and knowledge in nursing to connect with families, individuals, and communities (Henderson, 1991). Key elements of the Concept Meta-paradigm concepts The 4 basic meta-paradigm models in nursing consist of person, health, nursing, and environment. The person represents the patient's relations with the nurse to expedite communication. The environment may be a clinic, hospital, or home in which communication is taking place. Health entails an individual's well-being linked to the environment whiles entails integrating a care plan. Henderson's model of an individual or person comprises of 14 basic needs, which can be classified into psychological, biological, spiritual, and sociological elements. The physiological element comprises Henderson's 1-9 needs. The psychological element is the 10th and 14th need. Sociological include the 12th and 13th need while the spiritual element is the 11th need. A person needs strength and knowledge to perform undertakings of everyday living plus have the necessities for surviving. The well or sick individual needs assistance to be healthy, autonomous or die serenely plus there is a link between body and mind (Henderson, 1960). Henderson's environment concept includes a person's relation with family, society involvement, for instance public and private agencies that afford health care and the community to facilitate with nursing edification. Correspondingly, the environment has the ability hurt a healthy person through personal aspects, for example, age; and such physical factors as air pollution, which can cause disease (Henderson, 1991). Health is described by Henderson's 14 basic needs that require a person to perform efficiently. Henderson stresses the significance of promoting healthcare and averting diseases since optimal health might be hard for some people to obtain. Furthermore, she examines how such factors as age, emotional balance, race, and mental and physical abilities influence the health plus needs of a person. Henderson describes the concept of nursing to mean to care for a well or sick person until he or she has the capacity to care for herself or himself autonomously. Nursing encompasses having the capacity to operate as part of a healthcare team as stated by a personalized healthcare plan. Nursing entails understanding social humanities and sciences that have steered to nursing education. Moreover, knowledge of religious and social customs is vital to nursing when examining a person's health needs (Henderson, 1960). Propositions of the concept There are 3 main conceptions of Henderson's notion that are essential, include human needs, culture, interaction-communication, and bio-physiology. These notions connect to Henderson's nursing definition plus how they are vital nursing components. The 14 essential needs may be equated to Maslow's human needs hierarchy. Safety and physiological needs encompass Henderson's 1-9 needs. Belonging, love, self-actualization, and esteem needs comprise Henderson's 10-14 needs (Henderson, 1960). The concept of bio-physiology, in Henderson's model, uses human anatomy knowledge, and biological systems knowledge to discover the finest nursing care to assist a person get healthier or help arrange for a pacific death. The concept of culture includes society and family that also influences human needs. Within Henderson's model, the nurse could help a person attain these human requirements. The interaction-communication model is used to institute therapeutic relationships between nurses and patients, and family and friends (Henderson, 1991). The nurse mus...