Betty Neumans systems model approach to nursing theory - Article Example

I agree with the assessment of Betty Neuman that the field of healthcare is a difficult one to utilize a singular theory in helping to define it in totality.Due to the fact that nursing is an infinitely complex and nuanced discipline, it is prone to change and be redefined in any of multiple key areas. However, if one were forced to choose a solitary theory as an explanation of the way in which nursing should operate and is currently exhibited within its application, it would necessarily be that of Betty Neuman's Systems Model.

Due to the fact that her approach argues that the practitioner seek to approach the individual patient on a systemic level, it is one of the few theoretical approaches that requires the practitioner to dispel as many preconceived notions as is possible. Due to the fact that healthcare practitioners are oftentimes caught up in the individual stressors that a patient may exhibit, such factors are oftentimes not headed.   I further agree with the analysis that Neuman’s Systems Model approach points out that individuals within the nursing profession oftentimes treat the symptoms of a secondary issue rather than seeking to draw a level of inference upon what unique stressors could have caused the secondary and tertiary issues that the patient might be experiencing.

It is Neuman’s understanding that once these key stressors are isolated and dealt with accordingly, the overall health of the patient will necessarily improve. By seeking to localize and treat these key stressors, both physiological as well as others, the nursing professional can gain a great deal of inference on what ultimate causes which affect the health and outlook of the patient may be (Beckman 2012). Likewise, an example of such a path of action could necessarily be the fact that a patient is exhibiting symptoms that are indicative of a key stressor that medical healthcare professions have not yet localized or considered with regards to the treatment plan.

This particular theory allows the nursing professional to approach each and every patient with a broad based understanding that very often the case will be that the key underlying causes of pain, discomfort, or need for treatment will not be expressly manifest to the healthcare professional at first glance and will require a degree of personal understanding, interaction, and appreciation for the unique subset of needs that the given patient might require (Hayden 2012). Further, I agree with the respondent that in Neuman’s theory it is the responsibility of all practitioners to not rely too heavily upon any one given theory as a means of explaining any and all patient interaction (Clark 2012).

Due to the fact that theory in question approaches the issue of nursing and healthcare administration from such an open perspective, it is perhaps better than most in helping to acquaint the healthcare professional with the infinite complexities that doubtless exist when it comes to providing services to affected patients (Mercks et al 2012). In this way, although Neuman’s theory goes a long way in assisting the professional to approach each and every situation with an open mind and to think outside of the box, the fact of the matter is that even after such an approach has been effected, the theory requires that the practitioner assume that a hidden level of meaning therefore exists within the treatment and underlying causes that afflict the patient in question.

Such an assumption may or may not be true; however, to assume that in every situation there exists something that does not meet the eye is both foolish and presumptive (Cobb 2012). As such, such a level of