Nursing theory in practice - Essay Example

The purpose of Orem’s theory relates to the holistic approach to nursing. According to Orem, a human being is someone who “is an integrated whole composed of an internal physical, psychologic, and social nature with varying degree of self-care ability” (Bridge, Cabell & Herring, 2007). The essence of the theory is that all patients are able to take care of themselves. The role of nursing is this regard is that nursing serves as an art, which allows nurses to provide specialized care to people with disabilities of such a nature that more than usual care is required for fulfilling the daily needs of self-care and to intelligently take part in the delivery of care from the physician to the patient.

In Orem’s perspectives the environment can be considered as a collection of various dimensions, which include physical, chemical and biologic features and socioeconomic features. The socioeconomic aspect of the environment primarily encompasses the family and the community and includes elements such as gender and age roles, norms, and cultural values. On the other hand, the physical, chemical and biologic features would entail the atmosphere, pollutants, weather conditions and pets amongst other factors (Bridge, Cabell & Herring, 2007). . However, critics have come to common grounds with respect to the world view of the theory.

It is common consensus that Orem’s perspective on the interaction between the person and the world is representative of the reciprocal interaction world view. Orem further regards her world view as an illustration of moderate realism (Bridge, Cabell & Herring, 2007). This entails that human beings are actively involved in an ongoing process of development and are struggling for their self-ideal, along with the owner of absolutely human traits like free will (Banfield, 2008). The theory presents the notion that people are able to maintain their life and well-being by caring for themselves (O’Connell, 2009).

Orem classified the needs and requirements of the patients into three groups. These include the universal self-care deficits, developmental self-care deficits and health deviation requisites. The critique of SCDNT ranges from it being explicit and simple to generality. According to Marriner-Tomey and Alligood (2006) the terms that Orem has used in the description of the theory are very precise. The language that has been utilized is in compliance with the language deployed in action theory and philosophy.

Moreover, the entire length of the theory conforms to a congruency in the usage of the terminologies. This can be exemplified from the fact that the term self-care has an array of meanings in different contexts. However Orem’s dexterity lies in her ability to precisely put forth a definition of self-care which is not only uniquely presented, but does not conflict with other interpretations of the concept. Critics have also