The nursing metaparadigm refers to a set of theories that guides the holistic management of a patient. These ideas comprise four pillars that aim at the promotion of the patient’s optimal wellbeing. The four metaparadigms are person, environment, health, and nursing, which are also essential aspects of the nursing process. The metaparadigm person is the patient themselves, who is the chief benefactor of the healthcare process. It also entails the patient’s family, friends, patient’s socioeconomic activities, and spiritual and cultural practices. All these factors influence an individual’s health in one way or another. The patient is the focus of the treatment plans and is liable for making the necessary informed decisions. Each person is different, and care should be personalized to meet the patient’s needs while preserving their dignity and respect.
The second component of the nursing metaparadigm is the environment. This caters to the internal or external surroundings that may affect the health of a patient. These factors go beyond the physical geographical environment to encompass the interplay of the economic, social, cultural, and technological actors in society, which may put pressures or expectations on a patient’s impact on their health. However, a person can influence environmental components to enhance their health status. The third metaparadigm on health refers to the health and wellbeing state in which a nurse finds a patient. The health of a patient is continuously changing throughout their lifetime. It involves the interplay of the intellectual, emotional, genetic, and access to healthcare possessed by a person.
The last metaparadigm in nursing involves applying the nurse’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes in patient management. Other assistive elements, including technology and devices involved in patient care, are found in this metaparadigm. The nurse is liable for effective interdisciplinary collaborations and creating a therapeutic relationship to heal their clients. Additionally, Emma Watson believed that nursing care should be added as the fifth nursing metaparadigm. Alienating the patients’ minds, bodies, and soul can be detrimental to their well-being (Deliktas et al., 2019). Treating the patient with respect and dignity is the core value of this paradigm. The consideration of the various aspects of these paradigms is vital for treating the patient holistically. Interdisciplinary collaborations to generate interventions need to be tailored according to individual unique needs while considering their psychosocial, cultural, spiritual, and economic environment.
In the practice of being an emergency room nurse, the ability to remain calm and confident during times of crisis is essential for ensuring effective patient care. ER nurses need to apply empathy and respect to manage injured patients brought to the emergency department. For instance, an individual involved in a road traffic accident is brought to the emergency department with profuse bleeding from the head. The ER nurse has to act calmly to arrest the patient’s bleeding to prevent complications of excessive hemorrhage, including shock. Empathy is needed to address the patient’s problems, like acute pain from the injury site.
Nursing is an art and science of caring for patients. As a science, nursing incorporates a definite set of empirical and evidence-based data for managing patients. Nursing is an art due to the values of compassion, empathy, and caring for handling patients. ER nurses need to ensure safe and patient-centered philosophies in caring for patients. They need to provide individualized care for patients with different acuities. Maintaining the patients’ privacy and confidentiality while using sober judgment to share clients’ data are vital nursing philosophies.
Reference
Deliktas, A., Korukcu, O., Aydin, R., & Kabukcuoglu, K. (2019). Nursing students’ perceptions of nursing metaparadigms: A phenomenological study. The Journal of Nursing Research, 27(5), 1-9.