This paper applies the Walker and Avant concept analysis method to Ernestine Wiedenbach's theory of the Helping Art of Clinical Nursing. The analysis examines the four main elements of the theory—philosophy, practice, purpose, and art—and explores how nurses identify patient needs through observation, establish therapeutic relationships, and deliver holistic care. The paper identifies key defining attributes including empathy, clinical judgment, and patient-centered care, while discussing antecedents, consequences, model cases, and empirical referents. This framework demonstrates how nursing care extends beyond medical treatment to encompass emotional support and comprehensive patient wellbeing.
The concept chosen for analysis is the Helping Art of Clinical Nursing by Ernestine Wiedenbach. The theory consists of four main elements: philosophy, practice, purpose, and art. The main concepts of this theory include identifying a patient's need using observation of symptoms and behaviors, exploring the meaning of these symptoms together with the patient, determining what is causing discomfort, and establishing the patient's ability to resolve the discomfort.
A nurse should be able to identify a patient's need for help. If the patient's need calls for an intervention, then the nurse should facilitate a plan for medical care (Walker & Avant, 2005). The nurse should create and implement the nursing care plan based on the wants and needs of the patient. When offering care, the nurse should exercise sound judgment by using practiced, deliberative, and educated symptom recognition. This ensures that the nurse can offer the best possible care to the patient and will not overlook critical details.
When providing competent care, the nurse should incorporate the patient's perception of the situation, which is vital for effective nursing. Understanding the needs and concerns of the patient is essential to deliver quality care. This concept encourages nurses to pay close attention to the needs and desires of the patient, which benefits both the nurse and the patient. The basic nursing purpose is identifying the patient's need for help. Using interaction and nursing action, a nurse would be able to identify the patient's need, which is the key concept of Wiedenbach's theory. The behaviors presented by the patient guide a nurse to establish the best care to offer (Dugger, 2010).
There is little ambiguity in the usage of the theory. It is basic knowledge that a nurse should be able to make observations on the symptoms presented by the patient and their behaviors. Using such observations, the nurse would establish early what might be ailing the patient. The purpose that the nurse wants to accomplish by practicing nursing will determine how he or she accomplishes the goal of helping patients. The nurse must be consistent and deliver the same care to all their patients (Mikkelsen & Frederiksen, 2011).
The philosophy of the concept is that the attitude a nurse has affects how they perform their role. Having an attitude toward life and reality guides the nurses' thinking regarding what they are doing and influences their decisions. Each nurse has their own code of conduct and beliefs that motivate them to act when dealing with a patient. For effective practice, the nurse uses their judgment, skills, and knowledge to treat and assess a patient. To offer proper and effective care, the nurse must be able to identify, validate, and administer the correct care to the patient.
According to Walker and Avant (2005), antecedents are the events that should take place before the concept occurs. The antecedents of this concept include a patient visiting the hospital or care facility with complications or visible symptoms. The patient should also have the capability to express what they are feeling and be willing to speak about their ailment with a nurse. Having the ability to demonstrate the kind of care the patient wants and desires is also an additional antecedent of the concept.
The heart of analyzing a concept lies in identifying the defining attributes (Morgan & Yoder, 2012). These attributes are not static and will change as time passes. When different people view the theory, they will establish different defining attributes and perspectives. The theory is mainly focused on helping patients. Help is essential to offer proper nursing care and includes the invisible acts that a nurse performs when rendering care to a patient.
The emotional connection that the nurse builds with the patient will establish how effectively care is offered. Nurses must use their best judgment to offer good nursing care. Whatever a nurse decides at a specific time represents their best judgment at that particular moment. The nurse can defend their decisions, which demonstrates how human judgment operates naturally. Prior to the theory's development, nurses concentrated on medical care rather than the patient as a whole. This perspective changed with the development of Wiedenbach's theory. Nurses now concentrate more on the patient and less on the purely medical model.
"Outcomes when holistic nursing care is provided"
"Clinical scenarios illustrating the theory"
"Methods for assessing nursing care effectiveness"
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