Dorothea Orem Hildegard Peplau

Myra Levine

Jean Watson

Educational Background

Nursing diploma, Providence Hospital School of Nursing. Bachelor of Science- Catholic University of America-1939, Master of Science in Nursing Education-1945.

Graduated Pottstown, Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing-1931. B.A. in interpersonal psychology- Bennington College, Vermont-1943, M.A. in psychiatric nursing- Teachers College, Columbia-1947, Ed.D in curriculum development-Columbia University-1953.

Diploma in Nursing, Cook County School of Nursing- 1944. Bachelor of Science in Nursing -University of Chicago-1949, Master of Science in Nursing- Wayne State University-1962.

University of Colorado at Boulder-1964, M.S. in psychiatric and mental health nursing-1966, Ph.D. in educational psychology and counseling-1973.

Philosophy of Nursing

Humans participate in ongoing interchange and communication between themselves and their environments to function and stay alive.

Peplau considered Nursing as therapeutic, meant to help a sick individual in need of health care.

Holistic perspective, believing environment plays a key role in 'wholeness'.

Caring represents the core of nursing and implies responsiveness among patient and nurse; the nurse co-participates towards the recovery of the person.

Definition of Nursing

Orem defined nursing as an art from through which the nurse offers specialized assistance to persons with disabilities making ordinary assistance essential for meeting the needs of self-care.

Nursing under Peplau's perspective is an interpersonal process that encompasses interaction among two or more persons sharing a common aim.

Nursing should promote 'wholeness' and entails engagement in 'human interactions'.

Caring along with nursing has existed throughout the ages in each society. Caring for others is natural. However, a caring attitude does not come from genes. It is transmitted via culture of profession.

Goal/Purpose of Theory

The Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory: To encourage patients to be as independent as possible and promote self-care.

Theory of Interpersonal Relations: The nurse through interactions, develops a care model suited to the needs of the individuals, aiming for a common goal of health.

The Conservation Model: Nursing's role in conservation is to assist an individual with the process of "keeping together" the total individual via the minimum amount of effort.

Theory of Human Caring: Nursing concerns the promotion of health, the prevention of disease, caring for the...

The goal is health promotion, and treatment of diseases through caring.
Nursing often involves care and empathy towards the patient and the process. Theoretical pioneers like Dorothea Orem, Hildegard Peplau, Myra Levine, and Jean Watson have provided nurses with the ability to understand the needs of patients through insightful critical thinking and varied perspectives. Although their contributions have been momentous and inspiring, the first nursing theorist to truly change how nurses interact with patients was Florence Nightingale. Recognized as the philosophical founder of modern secular nursing, she was the first to focus on the collective and the individual needs of nursing and apply her knowledge via theory. Her philosophy of nursing meant integration and balance of concerns from human and non-human to inner and outer. By examining the four nursing theorists and comparing their philosophy of nursing with Nightingale's, the selection of which theorist is most congruent with Nightingale will be selected.

Dorothea Orem created The Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory. The theory emphasizes the duty of the nurse to encourage independence from the patient so the patient can generate a level of self-care that will help towards a positive health outcome. Although the original theory was split into three theories, the overall message of Orem's theory is to enable independence in patients. Self-care is at the center of the theory and is defined as:

Self-care is not limited to a person providing care for himself; it includes are offered by others on behalf of the person (dependent care). Care may be offered by members of the family or outsides until a person is able to perform self-care. Self-care is purposeful and contributes to human structural integrity, functioning, and development (Meleis, 2012, p. 280).

When compared to the other theories, including Nightingale's, the theory is vastly different from the others as it places some of the responsibility of a positive health outcome on the patient. Furthermore, by splitting the original theory into three, it adds complexity to the perspective making it more difficult to understand the original or updated goal. For example, the first theory, the theory of self-care, focuses on self-care as a means of maintaining life, keeping the psychic and physical functions continuing, and maintaining a person's health integrity to sustain good health. This theory harkens back to Orem's original theory, but does not go into detail on how to enable self-care within the patient.

The second theory, self-care deficit, gives the most comprehensive element, but fails to deliver a clear and concise understanding of the theory. For instance,…