Personal theory of nursing practice and philosophy

Nursing theory chosen, which best aligns with my personal theory of nursing, is Neuman's System Model. This model was created by Betty Neuman, and designed to be holistic in nature (Memmott, et al., 2000). The focus of the model is on the whole person (patient), the environment surrounding that person, the overall health of the person, and the nursing care that person is provided with during his or her illness. While it might seem obvious that all of these areas should be considered, many models of nursing practice today ignore too many important factors regarding a person and why he or she may be ill (Barnum, 1998). With that in mind, it is very important to use a theory like Neuman's Systems Model in order to address more than just a set of symptoms (Memmott, et al., 2000). When nurses and other medical professionals take a look at a chart and consider what may or may not be the actual problem that is causing a patient to feel ill, the cause can sometimes be very obvious. In other cases, however, the cause is difficult to discern.

That is why Neuman's Systems Model is so valuable for nursing practice and diagnostic purposes. It addresses four different components instead of seeing only one or two, and it also focuses on how to consider everything about a patient. This can easily be applied to a nursing practice. For example, the environment component can provide a lot of information to a nurse about a patient (Memmott, et al., 2000). What a person has in his or her environment, from both physical and mental standpoints, can greatly affect health. Whether the person is getting sick because there is mold in his or her home, or the symptoms are caused by the stress and strain of the person's job, marriage, or financial situation, there is more to the person than only the symptoms with which he or she presents to the nurse. Being aware of how to properly evaluate patients is vital to helping them (Barnum, 1998).

Additionally, Neuman's Systems Model shows the importance of understanding different types of stress and how they can all affect the health and well-being of a person (Memmott, et al., 2000). Stress, therefore, has to be handled at several levels. Nurses are generally not trained to address the stress factors in a person's life, but there is no reason they cannot be trained to look for those types of things and work with patients to help them feel better and achieve a higher level of good health (Barnum, 1998). Nurses are taught many theories during their education, but they do not always see how to apply these theories to practice. That often occurs because evidence-based practice is not a part of the curriculum at many nursing schools. It should, however, be the most important part of the educational experience so nurses who are interested in taking good care of patients are able to do so the right way -- with a holistic, full-body approach to care (Memmott, et al., 2000).