Nursing theory comparison paper (Rough Draft) Health Research Paper

Comparison of AACN Synergy Model of Patient Care and Virginia Henderson's Nursing Need Theory
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Introduction
In nursing, the examination of knowledge and application of that knowledge is achieved using theories. In this case, a theory is a set of definitions, relationships, assumptions, and concepts formulated based on nursing models and related disciplines. Among the numerous theories that healthcare providers apply in clinical settings is the AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care and Virginia Henderson's Nursing Need Theory. The AACN Synergy Model aligns the patient's needs to nurse competencies. Since its formulation, the AACN Synergy Model has acted as the basis of nurse certification and as guidance of achieving an optimal outcome.
On the other hand, the Nursing Need Theory focuses on how patients' independence can be increased. As a result, the theory argues that nurses must care for their patients until they can care for themselves. Despite achieving a common goal, the Synergy Model and the Nursing Need Theory are based on different concepts and assumptions. This paper compares the AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care and Virginia Henderson's Nursing Need Theory by examining their background, main concepts, philosophical underpinnings, clinical application, and parsimony.
Background of the Theories
The Nursing Need Theory was developed based on Virginia Henderson's education and experience as a nurse and teacher at the Norfolk Protestant Hospital in Virginia and Columbia University. The events of World War one prompted Henderson to examine basic nursing care that centers on patient independence. As a result, she defined nurse responsibilities as substitutive (performing for the patient), supplementary (assisting the patient), complimentary (working with the patient), and to enable the patient to become independent. While defining these roles, the Henderson's goal was not to formulate a theory. The definition lacked theoretical statements that facilitate testability. However, her focus on patients' needs as nurses' responsibility led to extra exploration that resulted in the Nursing Need Theory. The theory focuses on how patients' independence and promotes their progress while in the hospitals and after being discharged (McEwen and Wills, 2017). The Nursing Need Theory has been very influential in healthcare. It is universally acclaimed that what Henderson did for nursing in 20th century is similar to what Nightingale accomplished for 19th-century nursing.
On the other hand, the Synergy Model for Patient Care was formulated by a team of experts representing the American Associations of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The model provides a patient-centered framework that focuses on patient needs, nurse competencies, and the synergy established when needs and competencies align. Initially, the purpose of the Synergy Model was to establish a theoretical structure for licensed practice. However, it became clear that treatment methods are more effective if selected based on patients' needs. As a result, the Synergy Model adopted a large scope and later defined nursing through higher-level characteristics and competencies rather than through a set of tasks and responsibilities. Today, the Synergy Model for Patient Care is employed in a wide range of conditions, including staff development, measuring nurses' productivity, and in the care of patients with acute coronary syndromes.
Philosophical Underpinnings of the Theories
The Nursing Need Theory and the Synergy Model corresponds to philosophical arguments of constructivism, which is dependent on social experiences and human views and describes situations based on culture and context. Under constructivism, knowledge is created through communication between various people in society (Green, 2012). The interactions establish significant experiences that lay the foundation of insightful knowledge. The two theories recognize patients as entities or systems that are made up of various subsystems. In this regard, nurses can only address patient needs if they understand all subsystems' elements. Under the AACN Synergy Model, nurses can only describe and address patients' needs if they have sufficient knowledge regarding their biological, psychological, social, and spiritual elements. These elements are the context in which patients live and interact with others.
Furthermore, the views presented by the Nursing Need Theory fits the postmodernism paradigm, which opposes the use of a uniform approach to knowledge. Postmodernists encourage intuition, which is a type of personal knowledge that results from the nurses' understanding of the current state, including the patients' condition, and the entire situation (Holm & Severinsson, 2016). This view aligns with the Nursing Need Theory, which encourages nurses to link caring plans to patients' specific environments rather than common treatment plans.
Concepts, Assumptions, and Relationship of the Theories
Although the foundation of the AACN Synergy Model is somewhat simple, its major concepts are complex. The model itself consists of eight nurse competencies, eight patient elements, and sixteen primary concepts. All the competencies and characteristics are classified and range from competent to expert for nursing and minimal complexity to highly complex for patients. As a result, the  Synergy Model's main concept relates to how patients need to drive nurses' competencies or characteristics. This implies that nurses must possess a wide range of competences because the needs of patients determine their responsibility. Consequently, synergy can only be established when the patient needs match with nurses' competencies (Curley, 2017).
The main concepts addressed in the Nursing Need Theory are the individual, environment, nursing, and health. The theory's description of nursing states: "I say that the nurse does for others what they would do for themselves if they had the strength, the will, and the knowledge" (Vera, 2014, P. 8). Therefore, although the nurse must implement a physician's therapeutic plan, fulfilling patient needs relies on their creativity. On the other hand, the environment comprises various settings that help people realize distinctive living patterns. As a result, nurses must assess patients' needs and establish environments that allow patients to perform activities independently. For the individual, the body and the mind are interrelated, making an individual a system with psychological, biological, spiritual, and sociological elements as subsystems. Therefore, a patient is not just a client but rather a sum of parts with various needs.
The Nursing Need Theory is based on three assumptions, while the AACN Synergy Model of Nursing is based on five assumptions. Assumptions that guide the Nursing Need Theory are; nurses care for patients until patients can care for themselves, Nurses are willing to serve and will devote themselves to patients day and night, and nurses should be educated at the university level in both arts and sciences (McEwen and Wills, 2017). These assumptions emphasize that nurses' primary role is to care for patients and pursue higher education to obtain the required skills.
These five assumptions that guide the AACN Synergy Model are:
* Patients are psychological, biological, spirituals, and social units that are at a certain development point.
* The patient, community, and family provide a context for the nurse and the patient's relationships.
* Patients are explained using numerous characteristics, and the characteristics are related to each other.
* Nurses can be explained using various dimensions, and interconnected dimensions present a profile for a nurse.
* The goal of nursing is to reinstate the patient to the best possible level desired by the patient. Death is acceptable if the patient wants a peaceful death.
The Nursing Need Theory and the AACN Synergy Model c...