There are several notable nursing theories focusing specifically on human needs, yet the most important one is Henderson’s Nursing Theory. The theory provides medical workers with an understanding of their function as assisting patients in the performance of activities promoting their health and recovery (Gligor & Domnariu, 2020). According to Henderson, nurses have three main roles which they need to perform depending on the situation. The first one is substitutive, which is doing the activities of the patient for them, while the second role is supplementary, which is helping the client. The third role is complementary, implying working with the patient to accomplish certain tasks. At the same time, the theory postulates that the ultimate goal nurses must strive for is the complete independence of the patient. Moreover, Henderson provided fourteen basic needs which patients need to address, and nurses must aid them in it. The needs are based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and include elements such as the necessities to breathe normally, eat adequately, sleep properly, and others.
Henderson’s Nursing Theory considerably impacted the nursing practice, and to this day, it is widely utilized by healthcare professionals. The key contribution of the theory is the clear establishment of the ultimate goal of nursing workers, namely, the necessity to ensure that the patient gains independence. Thus, nowadays, nurses can rely on theory to guide their work and strive to attain the main outcome of their work. Moreover, the theory provided fourteen realms that have to be addressed in order to achieve the goal of patient independence (Mudd et al., 2020). In other words, the fourteen needs patients have to perform can be viewed by nurses as a list of the important tasks they need to achieve together with their clients.
References
Gligor, L., & Domnariu, C. (2020). Patient care approach using nursing theories – comparative analysis of Orem’s self-care deficit theory and Henderson’s model. Acta Medica Transilvanica, 24(1), 11–14. Web.
Matthews, J.H., Whitehead, P.B., Ward, C., Kyner, M., & Crowder, T. (2020). Florence Nightingale: Visionary for the role of clinical nurse specialist. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 25(2), 1–7.
Mudd, A., Feo, R., Conroy, T., Kitson, A. (2020). Where and how does fundamental care fit within seminal nursing theories: A narrative review and synthesis of key nursing concepts. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(19), 3652–3666.
Riegel, F., Crossetti, M., Martini, J., & Nes, A. (2021). Florence Nightingale’s theory and her contributions to holistic critical thinking in nursing. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 74(2), 1–5. Web.