Metaparadigm Concepts of Nursing, Essay Example

To better understand the metaparadigm concepts of nursing and the philosophy of nursing, health, person and the environment, one must first consider the assumptions, values and beliefs deep within their own personal moral and ethical structure. A metaparadigm is basically a concept which is extremely general and encompasses a thought. Although this may sound slight to the concept of the nursing profession, one must begin with simplicity in order to understand the complexities of health and all of the components associated with healthcare and nursing. This paper will contain the details of my personal belief regarding nursing, health, person and environment.  I will provide the descriptions and real-life examples to support my thoughts and concepts. The nursing profession relies on the philosophical mindset of each and every nurse in order to reinforce the conceptual basis of the nursing profession as a whole.

Nursing Profession

Definition

The definition of the nursing profession is the major concern for promoting health, preventing illness and restoring health. A nurse must be multidimensional to be able to create a care process to promote health and continuity of care. A nurse’s personal beliefs about the nursing profession are vital to the quality of the care a nurse will give to patients. The nursing profession encompasses both disciples of art and science with the main focus of caring for all people regardless of the individual’s economic, mental or physical attributes.  It combines also physical science with social science along with nursing theory and clinical skill sets. The nursing profession is dedicated to the wellness of the population and to promoting healthy lifestyles and mentoring patients in all dynamics of care.

Nursing has a direct body of knowledge with values which has a degree of autonomy learned through training and on-the-job experience. Physicians are not the only entities which are called upon to make quick decisions and life-and-death dilemmas.  The nursing profession must meet certain criteria to ensure nurses are experts in their own careers and profession. A nurse is held accountable and must follow the professional guidelines to ensure quality of care. Simply learning nursing theory is only a small portion of actually practicing and acquiring the training and skills to deliver clinical care to patients in need.

Nursing professional have characteristics and attributes which personify their actions. These individuals are giving and providing care for the ill and healthy patients. Caring and loving are typically words associated with nurses. Some have been called angels. There is no limit on the value of nursing professionals and the concepts patients attribute to them.  Nursing is not just a career but a life choice.

Assumptions

A patient presenting to the emergency room due to a self inflicted wound must be treated for all the varieties associated with the problem. The psychological component as well as the physical needs should be addressed. Nursing can be eloquently deciphered as simply ‘caring’. Nursing professionals comprise the raw skill of compassion; this is a prerequisite for becoming a nurse. The process for caring for patients and fostering the healing processes and procedures support the concept of nursing being an art and a science.

Nursing is the art of caring for the ill and the healthy alike. Nursing comprises many attributes to include providing care, building relationships and maintaining a sense of accountability for the lives of the patients and the mentoring of less experienced nursing professionals. In order to be an effective and efficient nurse one must understand the dynamics of the scenarios each individual patient deals with. We are not just here to heal a wound or align a broken bone. There are other forceful components to nursing including mental, emotional and spiritual complexities. Each word and action is a statement for the nurse and the healthcare system as a whole. Objectivity along with caring can often be difficult but nurses are charged with this in order to provide quality care and doing what is right for each individual patient depending on their specific circumstance.

Values

The nursing profession is an ethical one which often leads the individual to go through the process of what is right and wrong versus what is better for the patient. Maintaining a code of ethics and standards is important for nursing professionals.  It is an emotional journey which often can create chaos and havoc in a nurse’s professional and personal life.  It is the special system through which an individual can make a difference to others. The values include influencing others to lead a more healthy life and enjoy a higher quality of life.  The nurse is in constant interaction with the person, health and environment of the metaparadigm of nursing; being in a constant state of evaluating personal morals and ethics to ensure the validity and solidarity of actions.

Example

For instance, take a patient, Sally K, who was dying of cancer. Sally was elderly but still clear minded. The family did not want Sally to know that she was dying; however, Sally wanted very much to know her condition and would question medications and diagnosis. This created problems for the nursing staff who morally felt that the patient had the right to know her condition and prognosis. However, the family had power of attorney and chose to keep most of the truth from the patient.  The nursing staff did all they could to help Sally be more comfortable and not worry as much as about her condition. It was unfortunate since the nursing staff felt the patient did not have the opportunity to say her goodbyes and get her affairs in order. Her health was controlled by the family and the nurses felt Sally should be entitled to her right for health matters.

Health

Definition
Health is a general term and can mean a lot of different things to each individual. My personal definition of health means the quality of life that a person has at the present time. It includes the complete physical and mental well-being as well as social functioning.  Being healthy means to enjoy good health and attempting to keep that level constant. However, the term health has varying meaning.  A person who is sick with a terminal illness may have a good day where their symptoms are absent; thereby, they may observe they are having a ‘good healthy’ day.

Assumptions

Health is on a continuum.  It is contextual to the health problems of the individual. A person who is free of disease or illness may take for granted the mere fact that they live each day without pain or suffering. I have had patients come into the clinical setting with a severe head cold and chest congestion. This person enjoyed good health primarily and this set-back literally threw them off balance. They were cranky and irritable and demanding medication to cure their woes in order to return to their normal routine. On the flip-side of this scenario I have also had patients with terminal illnesses to come in and patiently wait their appointment turn and never even utter a single complaint for having to wait too long or not have the medication to make them feel better. Therefore, I see the concept of health as a relative term and completely dependent on the circumstances and individual.

Values

No matter what the problems are or the diagnosis is for an individual, nurses must respect and value the patient for their own uniqueness and opinions. If a patient considers themselves unhealthy due to minor illnesses, we must treat that person with the same sympathy and empathy that we do terminally ill patients.  It is not the job of the nurse to interpret the context of how the patient feels or the level of suffering they perceive. Nurses must assert their skills in caring for the patient as a medical professional; understanding the view point of each and every person in the milieu of each distinctive person.

Example

A patient, Bob W. recently diagnosed with cancer immediately went home and began to teach certain things to members of the family. The family members were more concerned with the health of Bob and wanted him to be calm and quiet and plan his medical treatment. But Bob knew that he felt great physically; the cancer had not created pain or discomfort yet. His main concern was teaching his wife to change a flat tire, his son to change the oil in the car and his daughter to learn how to use a power drill. Although he was terminally ill, he wanted to use his good current health to help his family before he was no longer able to.

Person

Definition

A person is not just a patient, but rather the whole person to include family and friends. Our experiences, family and friends define us as a person and these characteristic components must be included in the definition of a person. A person is not someone who presents to a clinical setting and is observed but someone who should be taken care of, respected, honored and treated as an autonomous and unique person. The person is the recipient of care. This includes all of the various entities such as psychological, physical and spiritual.

Assumptions

Individuals have a specific set of behaviors and beliefs. Nursing professionals may have assumptions about the human body as a scientific element.  However, each individual is different and medications and procedures affect us all in a different way.  While the patient’s support system is included in the concept of a ‘person’ it is still important to understand the nursing outcomes which are specific to the patient. We must do what is right for the patient; not what the nurse may feel is right. The interaction between nurse, patient and support system is the optimal avenue to pursue for quality patient care and patient outcomes.

My personal belief is that a positive environment with love, care and nurturing care will empower and encourage the patient to want to get well and continue to get better by healthier lifestyles. While working in a clinical setting is busy, spending extra time with a person and their support system will foster this positive outcome. Once a person understands the concept of comfort after having pain, they will naturally want to pursue the theories which will keep them healthy.  This is in theory but nursing personnel can assist with this by mentoring and teaching the person ways to begin to live with health-seeking behaviors and personal experiences of living a healthy lifestyle.

Values

All people are valuable and all should be treated the same. I believe that values towards persons include having a positive attitude coupled with the correct amount of assertive behavior to encourage and set an example for the patient; demonstrating confidence and ability. To me this shows the patients that I am devoted to patient centered, high quality care. This with the ability to effectively manage my time in order to spend extra time with each patient is important. Quality of time over quantity is definitely a goal; but sometimes those extra few minutes mean so much to the patient and I see this as a valuable commodity to offer patients.

Example

One patient that I knew about from a friend had been in a very bad automobile accident. This patient was a young girl, Anna Q.  While on a date with her boyfriend he decided to drive too fast for road conditions, and she almost died of multiple injuries.  The most devastating to her were severely crushed legs. She was a star swimmer in high school and valued the ability of her legs.  She almost lost both legs but the doctors were able to save them. She was in the hospital for months and was not expected to ever walk again.

Friends, family and even the emergency responders on the scene of the accident were there constantly helping her and encouraging her through the extremely painful process. This was made even worse due to the death of her boyfriend. However, she rallied and made the mental determination that she would walk again. She was home schooled in the hospital during her rehabilitation. She graduated with her class, walking across the stage with a walker and accompanied by the emergency responders. During her rehabilitation they told her they were going to walk her across the stage at graduation and she had to be ready.

Environment

Definition

In the healthcare profession environment is defined as being positive or negative. Allowing patients to live in a negative environment is only going to foster slow healing times and poor quality care yielding poor results. Building and encouraging a positive environment promotes positive outcomes and is key to achieving and continuing good health as well as positive wellness long-term for the patient. Society plays a role in this through viewing healthcare norms more in a positive light. All conditions and circumstances will affect the person in various ways; understanding the dynamics is important to the healthcare team.

Assumptions

All conditions and circumstances of the environment affect the person. A caring environment will naturally promote better health and is central to nursing.  It offers the potential for development and instills faith and hope. It is important to identify the interrelationship between the health of a person and the environment. Poor environmental quality will affect the health of a person and can ultimately be responsible for a preventable health problem. A person’s health status is directly related to the environment through both biology and lifestyles.

Society is a part of the justice for a person’s relation to the environment. Society has a responsibility to cleanup and protect the environment to ward off illness and disease. Technology and scientific advancements are a part of how society can further the environmental component of the metaparadigm of nursing. The protection of the physical environment is essential to protecting the population as well as preventing diseases and illnesses in all individuals. It is an essential primary prevention.

The healthcare system is also a component and plays a role in the environment of a person’s healthcare. The availability and accessibility are important factors for access to proper healthcare for treatment and prevention. Also the adequacy and competency of the nursing professionals are a part of the environment. Therefore, the environment represents not only the physical elements but also the psychological and social portions.

Values

The important values regarding the environment include quality of care and competency of the nursing personnel. They must be advocates for the patients and be able to communicate effectively with them on all matters. They must be role models for patients and not only instruct patients but they must also live what they teach. They must value their health as an example for patients to follow the model.  I believe we must protect the world and environment; all components must be healthy in order for humans to live without illnesses or diseases. Humans are a part of the entire ecological system and as such we must protect our world and the inhabitants to support the proper functioning and interaction between the elements.

Example

I believe a great example of environmental support is working through volunteering for natural disasters or missionary work. Nursing professionals can help tremendously by giving of their time during such crises or global healthcare. Charity and volunteer work is not something that is mandated to be a nurse but the personal benefits can be very rewarding.

I have volunteered for several different events to include charity solicitation for a children’s hospital and also for cleanup after a flooding situation. Both times were particularly rewarding as I felt my contribution to the environment and the health concerns of the population were helpful. If each nurse were to give a small portion of her time even just once or twice a year, the difference would be quite noticeable. Giving of time is a gift which helps others and builds character and is a learning experience which cannot be more positive and rewarding to a nurse.

Conclusion

Conceptual nursing models are important to the theory and reality of the nursing profession. Models are useful for to improve practices and quality of care. They help identify goals and objections of the nursing profession and practice. The metaparadigm of nursing is an art and science to provide growth and development of nursing knowledge and skill acquisition for new and experienced nursing professionals. Nursing knowledge and experience should be a continual development and is vital to the nursing and academic discipline of the nursing profession.

There have been many nursing professionals throughout the years who has constructed various learning and teaching models for high quality care. The nursing, person, health and environment of the metaparadigm of nursing is a theoretical model which focuses on the spiritual, psychological and socio-cultural components to include not only the individual but the family and community as they all play a role in the healthcare cycle. I have learned a lot regarding the metaparadigm and the interactions of the four components. To me they symbolize basic human respect and care for each other. They incorporate the vital elements of healthcare and further define the interactions between the components in a way which encourages me to take the time and use the resources available to me for quality of care and promotion of health for my patients, family, friends and myself.