NR501 W6 Assignment: Application of Nursing Theory

Application of the Dorothea Orem Theory
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Institution
Application of the Dorothea Orem Theory
Introduction
Nursing theories are classified and systematically placed on emerging issues in the nursing profession. These theories involve concepts, suggestions, classifications and models that are mostly based on hypothesis. On top of this, nursing theories are crucial in the identification of patient needs as well as in the evaluation of the state of the patient based on theoretically recognized methods. Nursing theories are also important towards the establishment of meaningful communication between the nurse and the patients. Such theories offer the morals that support the practice and make it possible to generate extra knowledge in the nursing profession. In all the cases, registered nurses choose a model to apply that meets the patient’s needs and utilize them to resolve patient’s challenges as well as to appraise the effectiveness of the implemented processes. The Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory clearly relates to and affects the quality of a patient’s health care. The Orem’s theory provides deep reaching guidelines of nursing practice and helps in the expansion of nursing research. For this reason, it is important to examine the key concepts of this theory and determine how the theory can be utilized in health policy, nursing informatics, nursing care, or nursing leadership (Gibb, et al, 2011).
The Orem’s Self Care Deficit Theory
Orem’s self-care deficit theory merges three theories namely the self-care deficit, theory of self-care, and the theory of nursing systems. The self-care theory states that the self-care theory involves those activities that are conducted by an individual to maintain their own health. The self-care agency is termed as the capability that is created as a means of conducting the self-care. This is mostly influenced by factors such as the health care system that is serving the patient, the gender of the patient, the family system of the patient among other factors. On its part, therapeutic self-care demands entails all the self-care measures that are necessary in ensuring an efficient health care system. This theory is important as it helps in ensuring that a patient lives a meaningful life (Gibb, et al, 2011).
Although Orem was the one responsible for developing the self-care theory, other researchers have expanded this theory to come up with other models that explain the self-care practices of different patient populations. These new models have also included perspectives on different health-related disciplines. The primary objective of the Orem’s theory is to identify the deficits in an individual’s self-care and enhance or completely eradicate the deficit. This is geared towards restoring the individual back to their former baseline or above the original baseline. The theory is subdivided into various categories namely Self-Care, Self-Care Deficit, and the Nursing System. Each of these sub-theories is meant to enhance the wellbeing of the patient being attended to. The self-care deals with how the individual can take care of themselves. There are various things that determine the ability to care for themselves and these should be considered when applying this theory. A self-care deficit can happen in instances where there is an imbalance of an individual’s well-being. The deficits can either be long-term or short term. Any incidence that reduces an individual’s baseline and prevents their capability to take care of themselves is considered to have experienced a self-care deficit (Epp, 2012). This paper identifies an issue of concern in nursing and then discusses how the Orem Theory of Self Care Deficit can be used to address the issue.
Description of Issue or Concern
One of the most documented things in nursing research is the effect of stress on an individual. Research has shown that nurses are some of the people that are most affected by stress at both the professional and individual level. There have been cases where nurses from our unit were falling ill due to their inability to handle the stress that was brought about by dealing with patients. Too much care has been a major risk for nurses. According to Peter’s et al (2012), close to 80% of nurse are at a risk of developing compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is explained as the exhaustion of physical, emotion and spiritual resources secondary to taking care of patients that are experiencing noteworthy emotional and physical stress. In areas other than healthcare, it takes place when assisting and helping someone who has gone through a primary trauma. A lot of nurses find themselves on the verge of a traumatic event in the course of caring for patients. The study by Peter’s et al (2012) established that trauma, anxiety, and excessive empathy are key determinants of compassion fatigue. Over the years, our unit has been experiencing high staff turnover as well as additional costs related to stress and hence the need to use the self-care theory to reduce the effect of the stress is important. To a large extent, this is a leadership problem since the nurses working at the unit have never been educated on how they can employ this theory to reduce on stress.
Application of Selected Theory to Issue of Concern
According to Orem, people have ...