Person
One of the four metaparadigms of contemporary nursing is the person. According to Deliktas et al. (2019), as per Watson’s theory, a person is a socially active being and constantly interacts with other people, which is essential to consider when prescribing appropriate care procedures. At the same time, the internal beliefs and preferences of each person are individual, and the adequate satisfaction of patients’ needs is a step towards their successful recovery. This metaparadigm describes the person component as the one involved in social relationships in which family, friends, and other communities play a crucial role. The support of those who mean much to patients improves the outcomes of nursing interventions and helps the person to recover faster. In addition, relationships with patients’ loved ones help nurses establish more effective interventions that are tailored to the individual’s unique needs. As a result, the person metaparadigm reflects the characteristics of each individual patient, including his or her social circle.
Health
Health is another metaparadigm that also includes the patient’s social circle as a significant aspect. As Galutira (2018) notes, this component of Watson’s theory can be seen as a balance maintained by the person and one’s environment, which affects individual well-being and worldview. In a deeper sense, health can be described as a state in which a person feels good from physical, psychological, spiritual, and other perspectives. The task of the nurse is not only to coordinate the health of the patient but to ensure that the patient oneself is able to manage one’s well-being. Therefore, the function of education is one of the markers of this metaparadigm. In relation to the social circle, the patient’s loved ones play an important role in shaping his or her worldview and help improve specific aspects that a person perceives as underdeveloped. Combining the efforts of the social circle and the nursing staff is a valuable factor in achieving health as one of the key determinants of well-being.
Nursing
The considered metaparadigm defines the general perspectives and tasks facing the nursing staff, including the degree of specialists’ professional training and their ability to combine knowledge with practical skills to address public health concerns. In addition, according to Littzen et al. (2020), any intervention designed to meet patients’ health issues should be complemented by respect for the ethical aspects of the nursing profession since ethics is one of the critical professional qualities. Along with community interaction attainments, this metaparadigm determines the development of additional skills that can be valuable for optimizing the care environment. These attainments may include leadership skills, decision-making, and critical thinking skills, productive communication, and target audience education. However, as Littzen et al. (2020) state, empathy is one of the main criteria that determine the professional fit of a nurse. If the specialist feels compassion for the needs and concerns of patients, this creates a favorable environment for nursing interventions and improves communication.
Environment
The metaparadigm of the environment is a complex of those conditions in which the patient lives and receives the necessary care. Kalogirou et al. (2020) highlight the diversity of factors influencing human well-being and include both internal dimensions, such as financial status or family relationships, and external criteria, including social support and community characteristics. Numerous cultural features of the environment largely determine how a person feels, how he or she perceives one’s illness, and how quickly he or she can recover. Therefore, according to this paradigm, the task of the nursing staff is to identify the relevant drivers that influence the above factors and build a caring environment in which the person feels supported. Otherwise, the recovery time and general well-being of the patient will be unsatisfactory because, despite nurses’ efforts, an unfavorable care environment affects well-being negatively (Kalogirou et al., 2020). Thus, this metaparadigm is critical to consider in the nursing field.
References
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), e45. Web.
Galutira, G. D. (2018). Theory of reflective practice in nursing. International Journal of Nursing Science, 8(3), 51-56. Web.
Kalogirou, M. R., Olson, J., & Davidson, S. (2020). Nursing’s metaparadigm, climate change and planetary health. Nursing Inquiry, 27(3), e12356. Web.
Littzen, C. O., Langley, C. A., & Grant, C. A. (2020). The prismatic midparadigm of nursing. Nursing Science Quarterly, 33(1), 41-45. Web.