Nursing theorists Joan Riehl and Callista Roy

Nursing Theorists Joan Riehl Sisca

In 1980, a book by Joan Riehl and Sister Callista Roy with the name "Conceptual Models for Nursing" made ripples in the profession of medical and nursing. The book introduced a new theory of nursing that dealt with the basic problem faced by nurses and medical/psychological helpers for the patients who were active. In case the patient is unconscious, a nurse only needs to provide physical help for the unconscious patient; the nurse will not be required to interact with the patient on a conscious level. Yet, if the patient is suffering and yet he or she conscious, the role of the nursing increases and nurse in such situations is required to provide more than physical assistance. Most of the nursing theorist realizes the importance of interpersonal dimensioning of the nurses and they believe that there need to be some form of personal interaction between the nurses and patients so that the patient may recover faster. (O'Brien, 2009)

In general, a proper nurse needs to be able to assess the patient's ability to engage in activities of daily living and to assist the patient whenever and in whatever manner it is required. The nurse is considered to be responsible for providing and maintaining an easy environment for the patient that should be therapeutic in nature and it should include a proper mental care of the patient. (O'Brien, 2009)

According to the symbolic interactionism theory, people try to interpret the actions of each other and the interpretation is often based upon the meaning attached to the action and only then they react. Thus, it is a continuous process between stimulus and response. Riehl's suggestions emphasizes on the proper assessment and better interpretation of the actions by the patients that are being served and observed by a nurse. The nurse is then required to assess and predict the nature of the patient and his or her behavior. Such interactive interpretation is necessary especially in the cases of individual therapy and the family therapy. Every nurse remains concerned about the role of family in the treatment of the patient. ("Riehl, Sisca, Joan," 2010)

The assessment and interpretation of the actions of the patient by the nurse is done to plan proper interventions with the patient's family and the patient him or herself. As per Riehl, the nurse and the patient involves in an active exchange of information that can be collected and used by the nurse for the betterment in mental and physical health of the patient. The nurse may use all this information about the patient to employ multiple theories, therapies and allied health disciplines, she may also provide a plan for the interventions of the family member in the patient's health improvement. ("Riehl, Sisca, Joan," 2010)

The process of learning and assessing the 'self-concept' of the patient and helping the patient through the knowledge of his concept regarding various familial and social set ups and corresponding roles to be accepted by the nurse and the family members is known as the conceptual models of nursing practices. (Walker; Neuman, 1996)

In the book 'Nursing Theorists and Their Works', Marriner and Tommy describes the Self-concept module of nursing proposed by Riehl Cisca Joan by suggesting that a nurse must assess the actions by the individual patient and she should try to view those actions in appropriate way as the patient perceives them. With proper implicit and explicit role playing the nurse will acquire the understanding of the actions of the patient. She will learn why a patient performs a certain action and in what conditions. This knowledge will help the nurse to identify the exact source of difficulty and it will provide a base for the nursing diagnosis. (Marriner-Tomey; Alligood, 2006)

After proper interpretation of patient's actions and the process recordings, the nurse would be in a position to intervene a better plan of care and assistance for the patient. The plan of care would be included as individual therapy through which the nurse will help the patient directly and the familial therapy too as the nurse will also help the family members of the patient to refine and assume roles they have performed in the past, or are using currently. These roles will help the family members to cope with the patient's illness and also, they will provide a better environment for the patient to improve fast. The evaluation process of the while planning and their results will be used to determine the success of this planned role taking. (Marriner-Tomey; Alligood, 2006)

The major concepts adapted by the Riehl Model of nursing are as follows:

People: The actions of people as a group or their individual actions are based on the meaning of the objects and actions they are surrounded with. Person is specific term that is used for the nurse, the patient, doctors and other health professionals. According to Riehl, a nurse is one who knows her capabilities and understands what is required from her, she is self-directed and she takes one role in a period. (O'Brien, 2009)

Association: This is the defining process of role taking. It involves proper assessment and interpretation of the actions of the patients by nurse. With a proper and appropriate association between her and the patient, a nurse can plan an effective intervention. (O'Brien, 2009)

Social Acts: Social acts are the constructs that are made by the individual or a collective group through a process that includes observation and interpretation of the situations and actions confronted by the actors. A nurse can assess these social acts and plan proper intervention for the benefit of the patient. (O'Brien, 2009)