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How are the concepts defined in general

In your participation responses to your peers, comments must demonstrate thorough analysis of postings and extend meaningful discussion by building on previous postings

Peer 1

How are the concepts defined in general (from other references)?

Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model revolves around three key concepts, individual characteristics and experiences, behavior specific cognitions and affect, and behavioral outcomes. Each of these concepts are important to the theory itself. Pender noted during her career that the healthcare industry as a whole, was reactive to patients, meaning that we cared for, and focused on patients with acute and chronic issues rather than working to prevent the problem.

The first concept is “individual characteristics and experiences,” this means that each person is their own individual and should be treated as such. This concept includes not only previous behaviors, but also biological, psychological, and socioeconomic status (Bredow & Peterson, 2016). This concept states that there are multiple factors both direct and indirect that can provide barriers to care, such as age, sex, culture, or economic status. The second concept is behavior specific which can include previous behaviors, or if the patient believes that the intervention would benefit them. This is the point at which the interpersonal relationships become particularly important, for example if a patient trusts their care provider, they are more likely to believe that the care will be effective for them (Pender’s Health Promotion Model, n.d.).

How does the theorist define each of the concepts you have chosen?

Nola Pender’s model is based on “the multidimensional nature of persons as they interact within their environment to pursue health” (Pender’s Health Promotion Model, n.d.). She believes that while health does include illness, it not the whole focus. She encourages that nurses don’t need to focus on decreasing the risk for disease but to encourage the patient to care for themselves and reach self-actualization. According to Bredow and Peterson (2016), Pender’s model “encompasses the whole person and their lifestyle and includes strengths, resiliencies, resources, potentials, and capabilities.”

How do those concepts apply to your clinical practice? Give concrete examples.

When it comes to the care that I give my patients Pender’s model is extremely useful. I care for patients in all different walks of life, with different experiences. Particularly I care for patients that have had a life changing diagnosis such as cancer, while I can’t prevent that diagnosis from happening, I can prevent other diseases secondary to their chemotherapy. Encouraging patients to have a healthy diet, and help prevent nausea, can really encourage positive outcomes. Through education, trust, and encouragement independence in their care.

References:

Bredow, S.J, and Peterson, S. J. (2016). Middle Range Theories: Application to Nursing Research and Practice, 4th Edition. [[VitalSource Bookshelf version]]. Retrieved from vbk://9781496348524

Pender’s Health Promotion Model. (n.d.). Nursing Theory. https://www.nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/pender-health-promotion-model.php

Peer 2

Swanson developed a theory of caring which links the nurse’s attitude, informed understandings, message conveyed, therapeutic actions, and intended outcomes. She described nursing as the informed caring for the well-being of others (Butts & Rich, 2017, p. 138). Swanson’s theory of caring includes the concepts of maintaining belief, knowing, being with, doing for, and enabling. I’m going to focus on knowing and enabling. The concept of knowing was described as the informed understanding of the clinical condition and the situation and client (Butts & Rich, 2017, p. 136). Knowing is also being able to avoid assumptions about the meaning of an event. Something that might seem minor to a healthcare worker may be major in the eyes of a patient. It is important that the caregiver pick up on verbal and non-verbal clues and assess the needs of the patient. The concept of enabling is best described as a therapeutic action that promotes personal healing. Enabling is not necessarily detrimental to a patient, which is what I typically think of when I see the word “enabling”. According to Butts & Rich (2017) it can encompass the facilitation of passing through transitions and unfamiliar events by informing, explaining, supporting, focusing on relevant concerns, and generating alternatives. I feel like knowing is part of our every day practice. We are supposed to always avoid assumptions when it comes to our patients. That doesn’t mean that we should not use the teaching and observations that we know. For example, a patient could go through a surgery that we feel is nothing such as an appendectomy, but that may be major to them. It is our job to assess their individual needs and attend to them appropriately. Once we assess those needs, we are in a position to enable them to get through this event. It may be as simple as having a conversation and coming up with a plan to make it a smooth transition. One of the things that I always do for a surgery patient is make sure they know that I will be working on making sure they can eat as soon as possible when they return from their procedure. That gives them something to look forward to and takes their mind off of the actual procedure. It seems minor, but to someone who hasn’t had anything to eat or drink, it is important and it shows that you are trying to make them as comfortable as possible.

Butts, J., & Rich, K. (2017). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

McKelvey M. M. (2018). Finding Meaning Through Kristen Swanson’s Caring Behaviors: A Cornerstone of Healing for Nursing Education. Creative nursing, 24(1), 6–11. https://doi.org/10.1891/1078-4535.24.1.6