Major Concepts

I. Major Concepts

A. Person

• A self-reliant, integrated whole who has the capacity to reflect and use symbols.
• Human beings are distinguished from other Human beings are distinguished from other
• Reflect upon themselves and their environment
• Symbolize what they experience
• Use symbolic creations (ideas, words) in thinking, communicating, and guiding efforts to make things that are beneficial for themselves and/or for others
• A total being with rational powers, universal and developmental needs, and has the capacity to do self-care and care for the wellbeing of his dependents.
• A unit functioning biologically, symbolically and socially.
• May also be a nursing client – “a human being who has health-related or health-derived limitations that render him incapable of continuous self-care or dependent care or limitations that result in ineffective or incomplete care” (http://currentnursing.com).
• The focus of nursing when self-care requisites exceed self-care capabilities.
• The recipient of nursing care
• A being who functions biologically, symbolically, and socially
• Is subject to the forces of nature
• Can engage in deliberate actions, interpret experiences, and perform beneficial actions

B. Health

• It is a state of wholeness.
• It is the responsibility of a society.
• It is when a person is functionally and structurally whole or sound.
• It entails operating in conjunction with physiological and psychophysiological mechanisms and a material structure and in relation to and interacting with other persons.
• Supports health promotion and health maintenance
• Supports the premises of holistic health in that both RN and patient promote the individual responsibility for self care

C. Nursing

• It is an art, a community service and a technology.
• Actions that are deliberately selected and performed by nurses to help individuals or groups under their care to maintain or improve conditions in themselves and/or in their environments.
• A service geared towards helping the self and others
• Is required when selfcare demands exceed a patient’s self care ability (agency)
• Promotes the patient as a self care agent

• ROLE THEORY: the role of the nurse & patient are complementary as they work together to achieve self care
• Giving of direct assistance to person(s) unable to meet self-care needs.
• As an art: has ability to assist others in the design, provision and management of systems of self-care to improve or maintain effective human functioning.
• As a technology: has formalized methods of practice, clearly described ways of performing actions so that a certain result will be achieved.

• SPECIAL TECHNOLOGIES:

Interpersonal technologies- communicating, coordinating, establishing & maintaining therapeutic relations, rendering assistance

Regulatory technologies- maintaining and promoting life processes, growth/development, and psycho physiologic modes of functioning 

SEVERAL COMPONENTS:

NURSING ART- the theoretical base of nursing and other disciplines such as sciences, art, humanities

NURSING PRUDENCE- the quality that enables the nurse to seek advice in new make correct judgments, to decide to act in a particular or difficult situations, to manner, and/or to act

NURSING SERVICE- a helping service

NURSING AGENCY- the ability of the RN

D. Environment

• Components: environmental factors, environmental elements, conditions and developmental environment
• Together with man, it is an integrated system.
Environmental conditions conducive to development:

1. Opportunities to be helped by being with other people where care is offered.
2. Available opportunities for solitude and companionship
3. Provision of help for personal and group concerns without limiting individual decisions and personal pursuits
4. Shared respect, belief and trust
5. Recognition and fostering of developmental potential

• Developmental Environment- promotion of personal development through motivation to establish appropriate goals & to adjust behavior to meet those goals Can positively or negatively impact a personality to provide self care