The purpose of this paper is to define the General System Theory developed by Ludwig Von Bertalaniffy and Historical Influence on the nursing profession. Nursing theories are classified depending on the “scope, which refers to the complexity and degree of abstraction. The scope of a theory includes its level of specificity and the concreteness of its concepts and proposition” (McEwen & Wills, 2010 pg 1-2). Theory is very critical to nursing profession because it provides the guideline of practice. Each stage is like an element of the many that compounded together to form the structure of what nursing practice is today, a well structure profession with great integrity and respect. This theory is also a reflection of what nursing practice was …show more content…
in the past, present and the future. It is evident that nursing theories played significant roles in nursing for many years to improve patient care with the goal of positive health outcomes. This great profession has gone to so many changes since its birth. From the Ancient Times until today Modern Times, the Historical Influence and impact on the field of nursing has been steady. After reading this paper, the reader should have a clear understanding of the General system Theory and Historical Influence on nursing as many examples, including personal examples related to both subjects will demonstrate their historical, social, political, philosophical impact on today’s nursing. General System Theory Parker & Smith, (2010) state that the General System Theory introduced in the late 1960s by von Bertalanffy was originally a philosophy of science which did not agree with “logical positivism and reductionism, and therefore proposed isomorphism and perspectivism in knowledge development “ (pg. 148). The general system theory is more than a guideline for the nursing profession , it is in many ways, a refiner that also helps improving the profession at its best. The general system theory has called for greater discipline while practicing the nursing profession, its characteristics include the needs of nurses to be self-regulated, opened for feedback, self-correcting, the system promotes, self-improvement, readiness amount nurses, promoting and nurturing constructive relationship with each other. General System Theory is a navigator for the development of knowledge, information, goals and decisions in turning a complex system as a whole (Parker & Smith, 2010). The concept of this theory is based on Ludwig’s identification of the structure, behavior and development of certain classes of living organisms. The objective was to pinpoint a general phenomena common to diverse disciplines so as to develop theoretical models general and relevant to generalized phenomena in different level hierarchical systems (Parker & Smith, 2010; McEwen & Wills, 2010) First Examples of how General System Theory applies to nursing practice Theory applies to nursing practice, with the evolution of nursing practice, the demand for knowledge workers with the ability to make a clinical decision based on their science-based knowledge, evidence-based practice and leadership qualities have been in high demand.
Best practice with positive patient outcomes through complex problem-solving requires leadership and management, and this is possible by practicing theory. Nursing practice today analyze complex health care delivery process. In view of this bedside nursing has improved tremendously (James, 2010). The General Systems Theory has established as the protocols for roadmap for the nursing profession. As a nurse, at times we can be very protective even defensive, we have the tendency to believe that our nursing license is a testimony of our competence. We at times ignored the one great characteristic of the general system theory, the need to build and nurture a structural relationship among one another. “The Various parts of a system have functional as well as structural relationships between each other” (Current Nursing Sept, 2013) Our selfishness sometimes overtake our intellects abilities; our egoist has at times overshadowed our ability to be opened, ready to accept constructive criticism. This is a behavior that has prevented us from applying the concept of self-correcting that Bertalanffy has taught us. We often times closed our ears as well as our mind to the general theory of open feedback. We must remember our mission as a nurse, services. When we apply the general system theory, everyone wins, including our patient. We improve the care through self-correcting. We evaluate our delivery of care, re-evaluate our performance and skills, make the improvement and improve the image of the nursing
profession Personal Examples of Self-Application of the General System Theory I worked in an extended care facility for the deaf, and it has become mandatory for every employee, including house-keepers and dietary aides to learn the American Sign Language so that everyone would be able to communicate effectively with the patients. The deaf do not view themselves as a handicap, rather, they believe they belong to a different culture, and therefore expect others to respect their culture. The ability to communicate effectively in ASL has prevented falls, injuries, improved self-care in patients, nutrition, in fact overall, it has promoted best nursing practices and positive healthcare outcomes. By utilizing the characteristic of the general system “system tend to function in the same way” (Current Nursing Sept, 2013) everyone, including myself was able to follow a common goal, functioned in the same way, learned American Sign Language, improved our communication with the patients, thus improved the delivery of care. Historical Influence Analysis Today, many of us, nurses, are clueless about the struggle the profession of nursing has been through before we can freely practice. From the Ancient Times to the Early Christian Era, the Middle Ages, Renaissance Ages, Reformation and the Modern Era. This great profession, the nursing profession has suffered from the impacts of the historical forces, the influences, of spiritual, religious, social, cultural beliefs, genders influences and the human ignorance. As demonstrated in the first chapter of the book Ethics and Issues in contemporary Nursing ( 3rd Ed.) Burkhardt, M.A., Nathaniel, A.K. (2008) The Nursing profession has been linked to spiritual, magical power in the Ancient Times, spiritual holiness in the Christian Era, all of these titles have come with great consequences for those whom volunteered their times, giving up their wealth to care for those who couldn’t care for themselves, either because of lacked of means, resources or the knowledge .The lacked of understanding and human ignorance took nearly destroyed this profession in the Middle Ages Era, as many believed that, the women whom were the core foundation of the this nursing profession, were responsible for the illness and the sickness of others. These women, whom have cared for many sick individuals in their communities for many years, where now under persecutions from people from their own communities. Burkhardt, M.A., Nathaniel, A.K. (2012) Historical Impact on Personal Nursing Practice Nightingale works have created the separation between the profession and the religious tided it has always had and helped made as independent as it is today. Burkhardt, M.A., Nathaniel, A.K. (2008) Now anyone with an adequate education background can join the profession without the approval of a priest of religious leader. The nursing profession stands alone and is thriving. We partnered with physicians in our hospitals, medical facilities to provide to best to those in needs in our communities regardless of their race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or their political affiliation. This is a significant difference from where this profession was several decades ago. Nurses can obtain their masters; become Nurse practitioner in the field and able to practice nearly independent from a physician or religious leader approval as in the Christian Era regardless of their genders. As male in the profession of nursing, I would be prohibited to practice as I would need approval of religious leader which would have been very unlikely to obtain. I am benefited by the work of Florence Nightingale because I was able to because a nurse based on my educational background not by anyone's approval. This profession has come a long way, it is the responsibility of each of us to maintain its prestige, follow and practice the nursing general theory to its fullest in the interest of our communities. Conclusion In conclusion, it is imperative that nurses apply General System Theory in their practice to empower them to be able to make a clinical decision which would positively impact their patients. Nurses should be empowered to make complex decisions in an ever-changing system (James, 2010). standards expected in nursing practice to improve quality indicators and assurance in care delivery for best practices. We must never forget the road, this great profession has traveled to make it what is today. When we reflect on the historical influence on this profession, we will be very great, thankful of those whom have traveled this road before us and represents the profession with the highest level of respect and serve our communities with the greatest pride
Vincent nurses, provides a framework for professional nursing practice guided this research. As the business of healthcare is about taking care of people, the model starts with the patient, and their family, as the central focus. Surrounding the patient, are the concepts of mind, body and spirit, which cause us to think holistically regarding the care provided. Finally, the core values/ faith based practices, guide us in managing our patients in a way that is consist with our culture/ values, supportive of our professional growth, encourages the use of best practices, that result in better outcomes, and makes us productive in a way the encourages giving back outside the hospital as well (Stone, 2011).
Nursing theories developed by scientists provide a framework for the process of establishing nursing as a profession with a specific body of knowledge including nursing language, and nurse is able to communicate inside in and outside of the profession. Theory supports and defines nursing practice and is used in practice situation to provide solution to the problem, provides guidelines in patient’s quality care, and helps to resolve nursing challenges. The benefits of middle-range theories found primarily in the research studies to address particular client population, in education, patient
The progress of nursing theories reflects the development of nursing science. Theories go beyond describing professional abilities, and aim for a synthesis which in turn becomes a reference to practitioners. This interplay between theory and practice currently mirrors specific features of our profession: its focus on the individual, the behavior, and the importance of the experiences, considered in a universal way. In consequence, the biological, psychosocial, cultural and spiritual connections of the human beings are the focus of the nursing discipline. This paper offers a nursing view, analyzing main concepts of the professional nursing roles.
In the history of nursing we have come a long way and this is because of the nurses before us. They wanted to learn, lead, teach and make a difference in the care of patients. There are 4 main nurse theorists in the second part of our text book. I am going show how they are alike and different from one another. What makes each one of them unique and the differences they played in the development of each nursing philosophy.
Problem solving is when there is a problem or issue that needs to be resolved. When there is a problem with a patient the nursing staff needs to try and resolve it to make all parties satisfied. When trying to solve a problem, keep in mind about the core attribute safeguarding patients autonomy. In this core attribute, it involves the patient wanting to be involved in their health care plan, as well as make their own decisions as long as they are competent. (Bu & Jezewski, 2006) Once the problem is identified the nursing staff along with the patient, need to form a plan or possible goals that will help solve the problem. There will be many problems that can’t be complete...
Fawcett, J. (2001). The nurse theorists: 21st-century updates - - Dorothea E. Orem. Journal of Nursing Science Quarterly, 14(1), 34-38. doi: 10.1177/08943180122108021.
My philosophy of nursing is based on Erickson’s Theory of Modeling and Role-Modeling, which allows me to incorporate the patients’ needs into my plan of care. In order to have an effective and thorough plan of care, I must take the time to get to know the patient. Once I have built a rapport and trusting relationship, I can help meet the patients’ needs by implementing a plan of care with reachable goals. These reachable goals will be set and agreed upon by the nurse and patient. Not only is it important for the nurse and patient to establish individualized reachable goals, but it is important for the nurse to also have goals. The nurse may have personal and professional goals. My goals are to continually find, propose, and implement ways to make the
Nursing theories are actions care that a nurse provides to a patient to prevent a sickness, maintain and promote health. Many of the theorists contribute to a frame work or a blueprint of how nurses should provide care to patients. Many these theories are part of nursing care and most of them they go hand in hand. Nursing theory aims to describe, predict and explain the phenomenon of nursing (Chinn and Jacobs1978).Nursing is apprehensive with laws and principles governing the life processes and functioning of sick or well human beings. Nursing theories are beneficial in understanding the knowledge of nursing and its application (Smith and Liehr, 2008).
When a nurse is providing patient care, he/she creates a safe environment for the patient and enables the choice to establish a relationship on a human to human interaction or on a transpersonal level. The patient will be acknowledged as a person with the wholeness of their soul despite their illness or number on the bed. The ten carative factors in this theory are used as an education tool for nurses around the world and should be applied to the different care situations in practice. Nurses use the factors to promote growth in themselves and within the patient. A nurse should respect the patient’s decisions and take the time to fully be present in the moments with the patient. A lot of nurses complain about the time limitations they have and do not provide the necessary amount of time to listen and gather the patient’s perspective of the situation. Another way this theory can be applied to practice is by recognizing the caring moment between you and the patient. This will determine how the relationship will
The best way to look at nursing theories is like the foundational block. Nursing theories are important set the tone of how a nurse will practice. A nurse will use intuition, practice, past expertise and events, and couple with learned theories to work every day in order to give the best patient care. it is all the more important to appreciate what first advanced nursing beyond mechanisms of practice to becoming a knowledge-based force in healthcare: That force is nursing theory and the theoretical thinking and research that generate theory. The complexity and depth of nursing are reflected in its structure of knowledge, which includes discipline-specific components such as philosophies, theories, and research and practice methodologies”( Reed, 2006). Patient care is a wide topic, but a key role in a patient’s care is the patient themselves, an educated patient is vital to their well being and higher level of care.
When planning and providing care for a patient, nurses can benefit from understanding and utilizing various nursing theories. They help us focus care, individualize treatment, identify risk factors, health care needs and educational needs. Nursing theories, such as Betty Neuman’s nursing systems model, can be used within the four concepts of the nursing metaparadigm to address all aspects of care. “In the United States, the nursing metaparadigm has been widely used to describe four spheres of nursing knowledge that reflect beliefs held by the profession about nursing’s context and content” (Myers Schim, Benkert, Bell, Walker, & Danford, 2007, p. 73).
In theory and practice, the focus of nurses is on the response of the individual and the family to actual or potential health problems. To evaluate patient care steps has to be taking that incorporates the collection of data and processing that data through critical thinking. The nursing process is essential because it incorporates this concept into a well throughout steps ...
Critique of theory defines evidence-based nursing practice and denotes the congruence between the data from theory-generating research and current implementation (Fawcett & Desanto-Madeya, 2013, p. 313). Critiques must be non-judgemental and must attain the purpose of extending nursing research to address human complexity and nursing interventions. The writer’s purpose for this paper is to analyze Betty Neuman’s Systems Model Theory (NSM) using the criteria: theorist’s background, major assumptions, concepts and relationships, usefulness, testability, parsimony, and theoretical values in extending nursing science, as outlined by Wills (2002, pp. 118-122). The writer addresses the concepts of nursing, health, client, and environment,
Nursing theory can be used to empower nurses by giving autonomy and improve skills. With the rise of healthcare, administrative decisions involving nurses could have a negative effect on patient care. There are four concepts that make up the nursing metaparadigm, person, environment, health and nursing and act as the model for nursing care. All theories in the nursing practice proves valuable within the profession but may vary between different theorists depending on what their beliefs are. Some theorists can view the same situation entirely different. Both Rogers and Neuman were theorist that developed theories for viewing and caring for patients but in two different ways. Professionalization, coherence, and enhanced communication are three arguments when determining the importance of theory in nursing. Multi-disciplinary nursing becomes necessary to achieve positive patient
Nursing theory has been the basis of nursing since Florence Nightingale. Theorist have made the science of nursing what it is today by years of research. Theory has laid the base and frame work for the nursing practice. Alejandron (2017) states that a demand for excellence influences Magnet recognized hospitals to use nursing theories to achieve positive patient outcomes. In this paper the nursing process discipline theory will be discussed along with the importance of this theory to nursing. The identification of the nursing process theory and the importance of this theory will be discussed. Then a summary of the key concepts related to the nursing process discipline theory will be discussed and