Conservation and Unitary Human Beings

Conservation and Unitary Human Beings Model Nursing Theory

Comparing the Conservation and Unitary Human Beings Models

The first theory to be examined in this research is what is known as the Conservation Model, created by Myra Estrin Levine where she lived and practiced in Chicago and surrounding areas in Illinois. The model focuses on the implementation of nursing practices that caution conservation, and the moderate use of environmental resources in care strategies. Conservation is essentially the strategic control and use of resources in a tailored way that keeps the underlying patient in a more balanced state.

Conservation as a primary way to maintain a sense of balance with both practice and patient health. There is a strong underlying focus on influences of what could be causing issues, therefore incorporating an approach which examines all of the systems within the functioning organism as a whole. Adaptation directly stems form conservation and because adaptations are changes that lead to better health and well being, they are sought after within such a theoretical foundation. The environment can provide resources to allow for needs to be met within a holistic approach to nursing practice. This would essentially allow nurses to focus on more holistic approaches that are often not seen as an option for the scientific structure of Western medicine. Conservation facilitates wholeness. The theory presents the idea that there is an organic balance within a state of wholeness which constitutes a harmony between the working systems and facilitating health. The end goal of this nursing strategy is essentially reaching a state of homeostasis, where the external environment helps the body regain balance within the internal functioning of the human system. Conservation can thus be used as a strategy to keep the parts working in synchrony, rather than abused resources creating an imbalance between them and thus creating negative consequences in regards to the execution of care strategies in contemporary nursing practice.

Secondly, there is the Unitary Model. This theory is most attributed to Martha E. Rogers, practicing in the South and around the East Coast. The Science of Unitary Human Beings Theory is heavily influenced as her time spent as a public nurse, with the theory stemming from her experiences in rural practices.