The purpose of this paper is to present my definition and analysis of nursing concepts and contrast them to those of Betty Neuman in her Systems Model. Below I will provide a critical analysis of the meaning perspectives of person, environment, health and nursing, and identify which paradigm my thinking represents. Also I will summarize Neuman’s key ideas associated with the nursing concepts, compare them to my own definition of the nursing paradigm and explore how I can apply Neuman Systems Model in my nursing practice.
Meaning Perspective of the Nursing Concepts
As mentioned in the first part of the analysis, the transformation in my knowledge occurred after transitioning to Canadian nursing, and resulted in my deeper understanding …show more content…
The health is what the person in my care feels: if they say they are healthy having well-managed diabetes- I agree; if they have any concerns with their health – I am ready to address their concerns with the appropriate nursing interventions. My definition of health corresponds to a simultaneity paradigm, as I believe that health is subjective: only the person in nursing care can describe the degree of his/ her health. The concept of the health is dynamic and influenced by the constant interactions of the person with the environment; it is the person’s unique living experience. There are no social norms or standards to be applied to the concept of health in the simultaneity paradigm as opposed to a totality paradigm (Parse, 1987). Nurse acts as a mediator between the body of knowledge on how to maintain or restore health and the person, whose health the nurse is called to protect. The person’s health is the ultimate goal of nursing; however, it cannot be measured by a …show more content…
The client’s system is dynamic; however, the stability of the system depends on the amount of energy available for the systems (). This central core is surrounded by two lines of defense and a line of resistance for the protection of the core from the environment (). The first protective line, or the flexible line of defense, prevents the invasion of environmental stressors and depends on the lifestyle of a person (good nutrition, normal sleep pattern, low stress). The second line is the normal line of defense which defines the person’s normal state of wellness and represents the normal coping of the system and the response of the system to the environmental stressors. When the lines of defense fail to protect the client’s system, the lines of resistance are activated in the attempt to stabilize the client system and return it to the normal state of wellness, such as the immune