Assessment Tool
The Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms depicts the multidimensionality of symptoms, their connections, and the potential for stimulation between them. The interplay between the antecedent element, physiological, psychological, and situational, is thought to occur before the onset of symptoms. Nurses get to assess the patients to determine the symptoms that later assist in care planning (Agarwal & Epstein, 2018). However, applying assessment tools in examining the client’s symptoms would assist in developing a framework and appropriate management for the client. Self-reported tools and factors influencing symptoms, among others, are considered, while unpleasant theory is a guide.
The assessment tool must contain the self-reported patient symptoms, a section that entails a one-on-one interaction between a nurse and the patient. Despite the interaction, the tool must also contain or highlight different factors that interfere with the symptoms of the pediatric patient. During nurse-patient interaction, age, gender, culture, and language, for instance, are considered major assessment tools, especially during the one-to-one interaction with the patient. However, it is critical to find an appropriate technique that lists the symptoms, their frequency, severity, and variations over time. When evaluating a patient’s symptoms as a nurse, an evaluation tool must consider any comorbid conditions a client suffers from. Also, there should be a tool for co-occurring symptoms. Therefore, the stated factors form the basis of the assessment tool and are chosen concerning the unpleasant theory.
Philosophical Underpinnings of Nursing Theories
To begin with, Florence Nightingale was a theorist who came up with a theory regarding environment, health, and the patient. Nightingale believed that nurses had a remarkable capacity to use their observation abilities to comprehend the environment’s function so that the patients may heal. Therefore, the environmental theory enabled nurses to participate in research projects and examine the potential effects of their activities on the nursing field as a whole (Pfettscher, 2021). It is crucial to keep the patient in a setting where they may recover as quickly as possible and maintain or improve their health. The environmental theory becomes relevant to the topic since tools opted for trying to find how the surrounding influences the symptoms of the patient.
King’s goal-attainment theory is based on the idea that people live in an open system where they constantly interact with their surroundings. The nurse sets goals with the patient and works toward achieving them. Every person contributes unique ideals, concepts, and viewpoints (Balasi et al., 2020). It equips nurses with the information necessary to initiate the nursing process so that the patient and nurse may jointly set and accomplish a goal. When they cooperate, the patient is more likely to desire to reach the objective. King’s idea emphasizes goal-setting, information sharing, and patient-centered treatment. Therefore, it will entail assessing the patient’s personal information, which is a tool for assessment to jointly achieve the goal of managing the patients.
Philosophical Underpinnings of Nursing Theories Relevance to the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms
The theories discussed are important, particularly in assisting nurse practitioners in using the appropriate treatments and making better clinical judgments to get better results. The theory’s social and cultural implications cannot be overstated because symptoms vary depending on an individual’s personality and culture. For instance, cultural norms and traditions in certain cultures influence a condition’s symptoms. As a result, this idea shows that nurses need to be culturally competent to comprehend a patient’s cultural perspective. The idea has social significance since it suggests that symptoms are social occurrences determined by culture and environmental factors at the time of diagnosis. As the environment clearly states, a relationship exists between the patient and the environmental factors influencing symptoms. Therefore, as it exhorts nurses to apply specific abilities to manage symptoms linked with certain diseases, the notion benefits the nursing discipline. Nursing professionals should employ best practices and approaches to deliver holistic care according to trends and EBP.
References
Agarwal, R., & Epstein, A. S. (2018). Advanced care planning and end-of-life decision-making for patients with cancer. In Seminars in Oncology Nursing (Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 316-326). WB Saunders.
Balasi, L. R., Elahi, N., Beiranvand, S., Tavakoli, P., & Balasi, R. R. (2020). The Effectiveness of Nursing Interventions Based on King’s Theory: A Systematic Review. Advances in Nursing and Midwifery, 29(3), 41-47.
Pfettscher, S. A. (2021). Florence Nightingale: modern nursing. Nursing Theorists and Their Work E-Book, 52.