Nursing Metaparadigm and Its Core Concepts

Introduction

In order to be able to accomplish goals that nurses set up for themselves, it is imperative to consider the nursing metaparadigm as it provides structure as to how a discipline should function. The nursing metaparadigm and its core concepts allow to create more defined motivations for the achievement of professional and personal growth. There are four core concepts of the nursing paradigm: person, environment, health, and nursing. Despite these concepts being highly distinctive and serving different purposes, each of them cannot be employed separately in the workplace. These four do not exist in their own domains, but they rather create an interdependent relationship, which includes people (not only nurses) and their actions (Bender, 2018). The core concepts in the nursing paradigm are linked to one another, for example, a poor work environment can damage other areas of patient care: stress induced by workplace bullying can reduce a nurse’s vigilance, leading to mistakes and drawbacks.

Definitions of Four Concepts of the Metaparadigm

The concept of person refers to those who receive nursing care, and it can include individuals, groups, and communities. Health represents the quality of well-being or wellness that the patient obtains throughout recovery. Environment represents external and internal surroundings that affect patient care. Nursing is defined as the nurse’s actions, faculties, and attributes that provide for the patient. Each of them has its own distinctive features, and without consideration for all of them, successful nursing practice is impossible. The ultimate source of these concepts is the necessity for nurses to provide patient care.

In studying nursing, theorists have closely investigated and considered these four concepts. Some of them focused on one concept specifically in their work. For example, Florence Nightingale and her environmental theory. It viewed the environment as the source of viral powers to the patient. Its creator stated five environmental factors, such as pure water, fresh air, light, efficient drainage, and salinization (Smith, 2019). Lydia E. Hall lay greater emphasis on the person concept. She defined patient care as having the purpose of establishing an interpersonal relationship. It also considered relations and good communication among nurses imperative (Umara, 2018). As can be seen from these approaches, consideration for each of the core concepts is not obligatory for creating a nursing theory. In comparing the two, it could be seen that despite focusing on entirely different aspects, they both fixate on the patient’s comfort be it physical or psychological. Personally, the application of these theories would be beneficial in establishing standards in how the working environment and patient-nurse interactions should be handled.

Personalized Definitions of Concepts of the Metaparadigm

As a nurse, I have colossal responsibilities to care for people around me, and it includes not only the patients, but also my colleagues. I see the concept of health as the end-goal of nursing and treatment, the improvement of a patient’s status quo being essential for my work. Nursing for me not simply my abilities and knowledge, it is my state of mind and my motivation. I view the concept of person as interactions I have with the patients and their relatives, and the impacts I can have on them, for example, moral support. I identify the concept of environment as surroundings not only of the patient, but also the medical team that cares for them. My definitions of these concepts are influenced by my desire to bring communal spirit to my work and a sense of unity. My personal nursing philosophy is commanded by the need I feel for strong leadership that would help eliminate some problems existing in nursing environment.

One of these problems is workplace bullying, a way of behavior that undermines an individual’s abilities and personal value. Its main driving force is to cause harm and distress to its victim or victims. It can lead to problems both at personal and organizational levels. On the level of organization, bullying contributes to high nurse turn-over, while on a personal level, it causes problems with mental health (Hartin et al., 2020). These environmental factors can affect other aspects of nursing, such as health and person. The errors caused by a nurse’s distress can lead to patients’ dissatisfaction with treatment and a decline in their health status quo. In fact, it has been identified that calamities, such as patient falls and wrong distribution of medication, have been caused directly by bullying (Hartin et al., 2020). These statistics support and ignite my aspiration for change and improvement.

Analysis of Two Health Care Systems

The Mayo Clinic and Baptist Health have several similarities and differences. The Mayo Clinic states in its mission that it sets out to inspire hope and promote health through integrated clinical practice, research, and education. Baptist Health states its mission as improving well-being and health of people, as well as preservation of life and sanctity. Its values are rooted in faith, including integrity, respect, and compassion for all its patients. It also highly values excellence and collaboration in its work. The Mayo Clinic has beliefs that also include the above-mentioned values, and in addition to them states stewardship, healing, and innovation. The visions of these two medical branches are different: Baptist Health pledges to lead in compassion, growth, and excellence to meet the demands of its patients. The Mayo Clinic is focused on the process of transformation in the face of complex and severe diseases.

The nursing practice models of the Mayo Clinic and Baptist Health both support and employ teamwork, and they care for their staff. Baptist Health performs independent employee surveys to thoroughly gauge the atmosphere in the workplace. In the Mayo Clinic, in addition to medical support, nurses are to provide several distinctive functions: teacher, navigator, problem-solver, and caretaker. Despite the similarities, these two health care facilities are quite different. When Baptist Health focuses on upholding religious values and exceeding in already established areas, the Mayo Clinic strives for innovation and expansion of nurses’ roles.

Summary

In conclusion, nursing philosophy is an integral part of a nurse’s career and education experiences. It allows them to comprehend and state their responsibilities and goals more clearly, which helps them find recourses and motivation to do so. The four core concepts of the nursing paradigm serve as navigators for nurses and building blocks for theorists to develop and enhance their theories. Different healthcare institutes also adhere to these concepts, sometimes in varying ways. Although the person, health, nursing, and environment concepts have distinctive differences, they are closely connected. Therefore, an adversity in one aspect of workplace can lead to disturbances in others.

Reflection

While completing this assignment, I have learned several things about myself and the work of a nurse. A personal discovery was the impact that the core nursing concepts had on nurses’ work and one another, and it taught me that I could be part of this influence. An “a-ha” moment for me was when I figured out that despite the difference between those concepts and how they affect the paradigm, and despite the fact some theorists chose to focus on just one, they are connected. The nursing philosophy that I have developed will guide my practice in establishing and supporting leadership that would allow for a healthy workplace to thrive. My recommendation for improving this area of the nursing workplace would be employment and support of practices that help establish beneficial leadership strategies, such as transformational leadership. Personally, I connect more with the Mayo Clinic philosophy simply because I believe that nurse can be more than a medical worker. An opportunity to teach and navigate a patient is a thrilling prospect for me.

References

Bender, M. (2018). Re‐conceptualizing the nursing metaparadigm: Articulating the philosophical ontology of the nursing discipline that orients inquiry and practice. Nursing Inquiry, 25(3), e12243. Web.

Hartin, P., Birks, M., & Lindsay, D. (2020). Bullying in nursing: How has it changed over 4 decades?. Journal of Nursing Management, 28(7), 1619–1626. Web.

Smith, M. C. (2019). Nursing theories and nursing practice. FA Davis.

Umara, A. F. (2018). The model theory approach. Care, core, cure for patients with cardiovascular diseases. International Journal of Nursing and Health Services (IJNHS), 1(2), 120–128. Web.