NUR 700 Metaparadigms and Impact of Theoretical Statements

Sample Answer

1.

One of the four concepts of the nursing metaparadigm is the person. The person is further defined as a human being. Human beings are embodied by wholeness, sophistication, and cognizance (Smith, 2020). They differ from other species based on their complex intellectual development and ability to speak (Littzen et al., 2019). The human being of the nursing metaparadigm would be the client, or the patient receiving the care. These can also be broken up further into individuals, families, groups, and communities (Smith, 2020). Human beings have physiological, psychological, sociocultural, developmental, and spiritual aspects that must be taken into consideration when interacting or caring for them (Littzen et al., 2019).

As a result, if all of this is not taken into consideration, one fails to adequately treat the person as a whole, and instead only treats one very minor aspect of what makes up a person (Alligood, 2014). The ultimate goal is that the person is empowered to oversee their own health and well-being with dignity and self-preservation (Bender & Feldman, 2015). I currently work in a rehabilitation hospital that focuses on rehabbing patients who have been affected by stroke, open heart surgeries, bone fractures, systemic infections, and other various ailments. On a daily basis, I look at my patients in a holistic manner. Meaning, I am treating not only the physical effects of the illness, but the mental and emotional toll it takes on them as well.

For example, a stroke patient with expressive aphasia might feel far more frustrated and mentally drained trying to express their wants and needs than that of a patient who is only suffering from hemiparesis. Therefore, one way to ease the mental strain might be to provide them with picture boards to point at what they need. By giving them another means to communicate, the anxiety or fear associated with this particular aspect of stroke is greatly reduced.

2.

Three major tenets of my personal nursing philosophy are that I must be empathetic, well-informed, and display integrity at all times. In doing so, I will be a competent and effective nurse. I must focus on patient needs, healing, empowerment, and safety. I must do this, all while hypothetically placing myself in the patient’s situation in order to understand their feelings and perspective. I must also apply these beliefs to my daily life outside of nursing as well because the characteristics that comprise a good nursing theoretical foundation cannot be switched off at the end of shift.

Rather, they are innate, and part of the nurse as a person. Smith (2020) mentions that classifying nursing as the physical tasks or actions that a nurse executes is a hindrance to the nursing profession. Instead, there must be a deeper set of ideas and beliefs behind those actions and mannerisms that ultimately focus on healing and health promotion rather than just fixing the affliction (Alligood, 2014).

3.

After seeing a nurse take care of my mother in an unprofessional, unkind, and unempathetic manner, I came to believe in these ideals. After witnessing this, I thought to myself, if this is how this nurse cares for patients going through a very difficult time in their life, I wonder how they treat people during a regular encounter. This happened before I was a nurse, but after I had decided I wanted to become a nurse. I told myself, that if I do ever become a nurse, I will never treat my patients in this manner, and instead would do my best to make them feel comfortable, help heal them, and understand what they and their families are going through.

I further developed my holistic approach during my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing program that focused heavily on nursing theory and practice application. This plays a huge part in why I started working in rehabilitative nursing. I wanted to do my best to get patients back to their prior level of function not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well.

References

• Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work (8th ed.). Elsevier.
  Bender, M., & Feldman, M. S. (2015). A practice theory approach to understanding the interdependency of nursing practice and
  the environment. Advances in Nursing Science, 38(2), 96–109. https //doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000068
• Littzen, C. R., Langley, C. A., & Grant, C. A. (2019). The prismatic midparadigm of nursing. Nursing Science Quarterly, 33(1),
  41–45. https //doi.org/10.1177/0894318419881806
• Smith, M. C. (2020). Nursing theories and nursing practice (5th ed.). F.A. Davis.