Introduction
Nursing is a dynamic and ever-changing profession. Historical development, present nursing viewpoints, and nursing theorists have all played essential roles in creating modern nursing practice. The effects of historical context, current nursing attitudes, and nursing theorists on modern nursing practice will be examined in this study, with an emphasis on care planning. This paper will specifically examine the impact of Virginia Henderson’s Nursing Needs Theory on critical care nursing and the implementation of care plans in nursing care. It will also investigate how they connect to patient-centered care in modern nursing.
Critical Care Nursing
Critical care nursing is a specialty that arose in reaction to the establishment of intensive care units (ICUs) to care for critically ill, injured, or dying patients. According to Morton and Thurman (2023), critical care nursing dates back to the early 1900s, when nurses provided care to patients during conflicts. However, the specialization of critical care nursing did not emerge until the 1950s.
During this time, the establishment of ICUs in hospitals resulted in the birth of a new discipline of nursing known as critical care nursing. Bourgault (2021) states that critical care nurses are responsible for assessing, monitoring, and managing complex medical situations. Critical care nursing has tremendously impacted modern nursing practice by offering specialized care to critically ill patients. This specialization has also boosted the demand for nurses with advanced critical care knowledge and skills.
Patient-centered care represents a contemporary approach in nursing that prioritizes the patient in all aspects of care delivery. Coyne, Holmström, and Söderbäck (2018) define it as an approach that acknowledges and respects the patient’s values, preferences, and needs. This model emphasizes collaboration between the healthcare team and the patient to deliver personalized, comprehensive, and compassionate care. Nursing frameworks supporting this approach, such as Henderson’s Need Theory, highlight the importance of meeting patients’ basic needs to enhance health and overall well-being.
Henderson’s Nursing Needs Theory
Virginia Henderson was a nursing theorist whose Need theory paradigm greatly influenced nursing practice. According to Smith (2019), Henderson’s Nursing Need Theory emphasizes the importance of fulfilling patients’ basic needs to strengthen their health and well-being. This theory paradigm recognizes the importance of meeting the patient’s physical, emotional, and psychological needs.
The Need Theory has had a significant impact on critical care nursing. It provided critical care nurses with a framework for meeting the diverse demands of critically sick patients. According to Gligor and Domnariu (2020), the Need theory model is especially beneficial in critical care settings, where patients are frequently fragile and dependent.
Henderson’s theory has also influenced the formulation of nursing care plans. Care plans are comprehensive documents that serve as a roadmap for providing patient-centered care. They describe the patient’s needs, goals, and the necessary interventions to achieve them. According to Grove and Gray (2018), treatment plans are vital for ensuring that patient care is tailored, comprehensive, and coordinated.
The paradigm has impacted the evolution of patient-centered care. The approach emphasizes meeting the patient’s essential requirements to enhance health and well-being. This method aligns with the patient-centered care philosophy, which emphasizes understanding and accepting the patient’s values, preferences, and needs.
Conclusion
The Need paradigm is based on the premise that patients have basic needs that must be satisfied to achieve optimal health and well-being, including physiological, psychological, social, and spiritual requirements. By fulfilling these needs, nurses can promote healing and aid the patient’s recovery. The theory is closely related to the concept of patient-centered care, which emphasizes the importance of meeting a patient’s specific needs to facilitate healing and recovery (Morton & Thurman, 2023).
Reference List
Smith, M.C. (2019) Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice. F.A. Davis. Web.
Morton, P.G. and Thurman, P. (2023) Critical Care Nursing: A Holistic Approach. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Web.
Bourgault, A.M. (2021) “Critical Care Nurse and the Editors Who Shaped the Journal’s History,” Critical Care Nurse, 41(4), pp. 12–14. Web.
Gligor, L. and Domnariu, C.D. (2020) “Patient Care Approach Using Nursing Theories – Comparative Analysis of Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory and Henderson’s Model,” Acta Medica Transilvanica, 25(2), pp. 11–14. Web.
Grove, S.K. and Gray, J.R. (2018) Understanding Nursing Research E-Book: Building an Evidence-Based Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. Web.
Coyne, I., Holmström, I. and Söderbäck, M. (2018) “Centeredness in Healthcare: A Concept Synthesis of Family-centered Care, Person-centered Care and Child-centered Care,” Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 42, pp. 45–56. Web.