Conceptual Models of Nursing, Research Paper Example

Conceptual Models of Nursing: Comparing Johnson’s Behavioral System Model with Roy’s Adaptation Model

Conceptual models of nursing typically involve a set of ideas and beliefs, both abstract and specific, which combine to offer a particular perspective on an approach to nursing (Tomey & Alligood, 2006). There are numerous conceptual models of nursing (many are named after the person or people, who have defined each particular model), each offering a different approach to nursing. Some models offer only subtle differences, while others differ greatly. Though there are no hard and fast rules guiding this area, many consider it important –or at least helpful- for nurses to adopt a particular model to help guide them in their careers (Tomey & Alligood, 2006). In order to choose a particular model, nurses must examine and compare among them; in this paper, I will look at two different conceptual models as a means of clarifying the model that best suits my personal philosophy and approach to nursing.

An interesting aspect of nursing models is how interrelated they are; they do not exist as a list of separate, discrete models, but more as a web of cross-connected and interwoven sets of ideas and approaches. Some models are direct descendents or antecedents of others; in my case, the two models I have chosen to examine share an almost parent/child relationship; the “Roy’s Adaptation Model” was developed by Callista Roy, who began her academic career as a student of Dorothy E. Johnson, the developer of “Johnson’s Behavioral System Model.” The two share many core concepts, and Johnson helped to guide Roy as Roy cultivated the ideas that would form the basis of her model (Keen, et al; 1998).

Johnson sought the input of practitioners from various disciplines, such as psychology and sociology, in addition to medical practitioners, in forming her nursing model. She envisioned a strong interconnection between human behavior and human health. She divided what she called the set of “Behavioral Systems” into seven subsets: attachment, achievement, aggressive, dependence, sexual, ingestive, and eliminative. As she saw it, understanding the various ways in which humans behaved offered key insights into the means of predicting and/or responding to patients’ medical needs. She saw it is a nurse’s role to foster “balance” in patients’ behavioral subsets as a means of achieving and maintaining a state of good health.

Callista Roy, a student of Johnson’s, developed a conceptual model that had much in common with that of her mentor, while offering its own set of ideas and perspectives (“Roy Adaptation Model,” 2010). Both models (and in some ways, most other conceptual models) take the view that patients must be seen as more than their maladies and illnesses, that an effective nurse must see not just the illness or disease, but the whole human being who is suffering from, or at risk for, illness and disease. To Johnson’s subsets of psychologically-focused behaviors, Roy added a spiritual dimension that I find quite appealing. She viewed a patients’ relationship with God as an important facet of disease prevention and recovery from illness (Keen, et al; 1998).

Of course, these are merely cursory glances at what are actually deep and complex conceptual models. As someone who is relatively new to the field, I am still forming my identity as a nurse, and have in no way reached the conclusion that my education is complete, and that I have no more to learn. There are literally dozens of different conceptual models of nursing, all offering different views, perspectives, and challenges that spur critical thinking. While I certainly see the value in studying, understanding, and utilizing these conceptual models, in some ways, I hope to never become overly-attached to any one model, as I don’t wish for my thinking to become so rigid that I will become closed off to new ideas or new approaches to nursing. At this stage, I am attracted to Callista Roy’s system for that very reason: it is an open-minded view that seeks to understand as broad a view of each patient as is possible, and considers not just physical health, but psychological, social, and spiritual health as well. I am both moved and inspired by that, and hope that my career will always be guided by such an expansive and progressive point of view.

References

Keen et al. (1998). “Nursing Assessment and Intervention For Adult Hemodialysis Patients: Application og Roy’s Adaptation Model.” American Nurses’ Association (ANNA) Journal.

Marriner-Tomey, A. & Alligood, M.R (2006). Nursing Theorists and Their Work. St. Louis, MO: Mosby/Elsevier.

“The Roy Adaptation Model.” Boston College Database. Retrieved October 22^nd, 2010, from http://www2.bc.edu/~royca/htm/ram.htm#top