Concept Analysis of Pain using the Dorothea Orem's Theory of Nursing (NR501W4)

Concept Analysis of Pain using the Dorothea Orem’s Theory of Nursing
Name
Institution
Concept Analysis of Pain using the Dorothea Orem’s Theory of Nursing
Introduction
There is no agreement on the characterization of a concept. Concepts are defined as abstraction, psychological formulations, mental images and words that characterize mental images. A concept is viewed as an ultimate or mental structure outlined with regard to an occurrence that is necessary for research expansion and development of theories. Concepts can either be conceptual or relatively physical. They are developed by individuals who want to communicate their meaning to the world and offer meaning to an occurrence that can either be directly or indirectly experienced. The important thing about concepts in nursing is that they help in the construction of theories. The nursing concept that has been chosen for this research is pain (Tedore, et al., 2015). The concept applied in this paper has been derived from the Self Care Deficit Theory that was proposed by Dorothea Orem. In this theory, Orem was keen on how to help patients undergoing pain to manage the pain on their own. The paper is divided into nine sections namely the introduction, definition of the selected nursing concept, literature review, defining attributes, antecedent and consequence, empirical referents, model cases, alternative cases and the concluding section.
According to the Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, & Health Professions pain is a repulsive feeling that is brought about by a strain of the sensory nerves. In addition to this, the Webster’s Medical Dictionary defines pain as a concentrated physical suffering that is linked to bodily dysfunction and is demonstrated through physical discomfort. For the purpose of this research paper, pain will be used to denote physical pain since not all pain is physical in nature. The context of pain as used in this paper will also be limited to the context of pain among cancer patients. Unlike other types of pain, cancer pain is unique in nature and presents challenges for the advanced practice nurse. It is critical for advanced practical nurses to comprehend and learn about pain experienced by cancer patients.
The Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory states that a nurse is a specially trained individual who helps patients to manage their emerging self-care deficits. Using this understanding, pain can be categorized as a self-care deficit. Patients are unable to carry out the care that is required without help. One of the main ideals of the Orem’s theory is that nursing is like an art whereby the specialist nurse offers specialized help to disabled individuals. This art offers more than normal assistance important to meet the requirements for self-care. A fundamental concept of the Orem’s theory is that people engage in progressive communication and exchange among themselves and their environment in order to continue living and to operate. The Orem’s theory is also supposed to help the patient to go back to normalcy.
Literature Review
Pain is a common occurrence among cancer patients. Nearly 30% of patients present with pain at the period of diagnosis and nearly 75% of patients with advanced cancer experience pain Treat-(Treat-Jacobson, et al., 2011). Today, most patients with cancer pain remain undertreated due to the pain variance among different patients. In most cases, it is possible for nurses to disprove the intensity of pain among cancer patients when they do not have the right information about it. It is crucial for oncology nurses to become familiar with modern strategies on how to manage cancer pain in order to come up with effective pain control. The management of pain is a challenging undertaking that needs a comprehension of both the etiologies of disease, and also the kinds of pain that they cause. Ideally, pain might be caused by the disease, the diagnosis measures or the treatment methods that are presented (Samuels, & Kritter, 2011).
Fast and efficient recognition and evaluation of cancer pain is important to pain management cycles and can affect the rest of the pain experience. One of the challenges linked with cancer pain assessment and management is inefficient evaluation of patient pain due to lack of communication between patient and health care providers (Tedore, et al., 2015).
One feature of pain experienced by individuals is breakthrough pain. The evidence that breakthrough pain has become recognized as a crucial aspect of overall cancer care is apparent. There is need to assess and treat breakthrough disease pain as a part and parcel of the disease pain management plan. The breakthrough pain that is experienced by patients is inclusive of incident pain that is linked to activity or an action (McEwen, & Wills, 2011). The good thing about incident pain is that it is predictable and nurses can anticipate and treat the patient before experiencing the pain in order to prevent acute pain from developing. Breakthrough pain on the other hand can be spontaneous without any precipitating factor. The end-of-dose failure pain is the type that is experienced by cancer patients when the medication that is used in the treatment has become inefficient and the patient experiences a breakthrough from the ordinary pain. Cancer patients as well as their nurses can notice this kind of pain and then modify it to come up with a more efficient type of pain control. On their part, spontaneous pain are neuropathic in nature and are highly unpredictable and excruciating. There is need for patients to recognize spontaneous breakthrough pains and come up with better treatment methods (Abernethy, et al., 2011).
According to Hjermstad, et al. (2011), there is need for nurses to have pain management education. Nurses are usually the main advocates of patients experiencing pain and must be experts in pain and its management as well as communicate effectively with other health care staff. Having adequate knowledge on pain will foster an environment of communication and will also help in the development of management strategies as well as a change on how nurses approach and manage pain. It is significant for graduate nurses to realize that pain can affect all the facets of the patient’s life and if the concept of pain among patients is not comprehended, needless pain and a lessening of the patient’s value of life might happen (Altay, 2013).
Defining Attributes
The identification of attributes is crucial in the definition of concepts such as pain. The defining attributes of pain are inclusive of an individual experience, an unlikable experience, a controlling force, and continuous in nature. The noticeable behaviors of pain are inclusive of silence, discomfort, crying, wailing, clutching the painful area, as well as overwrought facial expression. Observable and concrete physical attributes of pain are inclusive of changed muscle tone, vomiting, general body weakness, and changes in blood pressure as well as sleep problems. Scholars have over the years linked pain to anxiety and distressful thoughts that can change an individual’s day to day activities. Due to the undesi...