Personal Nursing Values and the Roy Adaptation Model

Introduction

Professional nurses are on the front lines of health care delivery, and they are confronted with an increasingly diverse patient base as well as the challenge of understanding and applying important innovations in medical technologies. Fortunately, nursing theories such as Sister Callista Roy's Adaptation Model of Nursing provide a general framework concerning the participants and appropriate goals for nursing practice today. This paper identifies the author's beliefs and values related to nursing — including the participants, environment, health, and goals of professional nursing practice — and compares these with the philosophical claims undergirding the Roy Adaptation Model of Nursing. A summary of key findings is presented in the conclusion.

Personal Beliefs and Values in Nursing

In many ways, my beliefs and values with respect to nursing closely mirror those described by Shahrian, Mohammadi, Abbaszadeh, and Bahrami (2015), who report that compassionate and caring nurses tend to always first inquire, "What can I do?" and then formulate a treatment strategy that best satisfies the answer to that question. These beliefs include the overarching responsibility of nurses to provide the absolute best health care services in every situation, grounded in the underlying value that patients and their families deserve this quality of care.

These beliefs and values are also highly congruent with those described by Shahrian et al. (2015), who advise that "nurses are responsible for their clinical function, and their main responsibility is to take care of the clients and patients who deserve appropriate and safe care. They act based on the values they have selected" (p. 2). It is important to note, however, that beliefs and values related to nursing are not fixed and can — and should — change in response to shifts in practitioners' professional roles and continued educational development. In this regard, Shahrian and her associates add that "clinical values are essential with regard to constant changes in nurses' social class and role. Nurses' awareness of their values and the effect of these values on their behavior is a core part of humanistic nursing care" (p. 3).

Beyond the foregoing, another closely held value is the precious nature of life alongside the fundamental right of all patients to make decisions concerning the type and level of nursing services they desire. This value encompasses several related beliefs, including respect for the basic integrity of all patients regardless of their life circumstances and choices, as well as the importance of identifying patient preferences together with their family members when appropriate.

Alignment with the Roy Adaptation Model

These values and beliefs are closely aligned with the main tenets of the Roy Adaptation Model. According to Kim and Kollack (2006), the adaptation component of Roy's model refers to a "function of impinging stimuli and adaptation level," wherein professional nurses can be considered the relevant adaptive systems that contribute to the coping process (p. 35). In sum, Roy maintained that people can more effectively adapt to their environment in ways that promote optimal clinical outcomes (Kim & Kollack, 2006).

The Roy Adaptation Model is also consistent with the value placed on patient-centered, evidence-based care, as the model emphasizes that nurses must account for the full context of a patient's environment and adaptive capacity when planning and delivering care. Roy conceptualized human adaptation as behaviors that respond to changes in the environment through various coping processes, ultimately resulting in an appropriate adaptation (Roy & Andrews, 1999).

Conclusion

The research showed that professional nurses today have a number of nursing theories available to help guide their practice, with the Roy Adaptation Model being one of the more prominent. Although my personal beliefs and values related to nursing do not correspond to Roy's model point for point, there are a number of areas where they overlap and even coincide — especially with respect to the participants, environment, health, and goals of professional nursing practice today.

References

Fawcett, J. (2009, September/December). Using the Roy Adaptation Model to guide research and/or practice: Construction of conceptual-theoretical-empirical systems of knowledge. Aquichán, 9(3), 16–21.

Kim, H. S., & Kollack, I. (2006). Nursing theories: Conceptual and philosophical foundations. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Roy, C., & Andrews, H. A. (1999). The Roy adaptation model (2nd ed.). Stamford, CT: Appleton & Lange.

Shahrian, M., Mohammadi, E., Abbaszadeh, A., & Bahrami, M. (2015, January–February). Nursing ethical values and definitions: A literature review. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 18(1), 1–8.