NU 500 Unit 4 Discussion – Theory & Leadership

Unit 4 Discussion – Theory & Leadership

Please complete the following steps for your initial discussion post:

Complete a library search for a peer-reviewed journal article that integrates nursing theory and nursing management.

Present the article and discuss the nursing theory used, the benefits of nursing theory in management and any weaknesses you identify in the article.

Responses should be at least 500 words, integrate key concepts from the weekly readings and include specific examples of how the concepts can be applied to your work environment.

Attach a copy of the article to this discussion forum.

Be sure to supplement your discussion with personal and professional experiences.

Peer Reviewed Journal Article Link – Nursing Interventions to the Patient With Stroke in Rehabilitation

https://6o3069cod-mp01-y-https-web-b-ebscohost-com.prx-herzing.lirn.net/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=80c9e630-f748-486f-a042-f9e169e5e712%40pdc-v-sessmgr06

Article Information

The article that I chose for this week on theory and leadership is titled “Nursing interventions to the patient with stroke in rehabilitation.” I chose this article because it is an area that I have dealt with in my previous nursing experience, and it also applies to Virginia Henderson’s need theory. Henderson’s need theory is based off of the notion that nurses will provide care for patients until they are well enough to resume care for themselves (McEwen & Wills, 2019). The article that I chose goes through many nursing treatments and interventions for a patient with a history of stroke that is in rehab. Related to Henderson’s need theory, the interventions and nursing management of stroke rehabilitation fall into the metaparadigm, which Henderson’s need theory’s concepts relate greatly to.

Henderson’s Need Theory – Benefits & Weaknesses

This article separates nursing interventions into sections of care, such as patient care, education, interventions of managerial nursing, and interventions directed to caregivers (Froca Cavalcante, Lima Nemer, Moreire, & de Sousa Macial Ferreira, 1999). The article also expresses the types of care studied, and examples related to the stroke patient in a rehabilitation center. The article discussed motor and functional rehab, such as therapies to maintain muscle strength and joint flexibility, physiological functions such as basic needs and activities of daily living, and emotional care such as coping and problem solving (Froca Cavalante et al, 1999). I really like the fact that there were also nursing interventions involving caregivers as mentioned earlier. For a stroke patient, it is not just physical therapy that is needed. When a patient has a stroke, they need to maintain their physical abilities, emotional support, activities of daily living, and the most important thing: what happens next? There are so many unknowns after someone has a stroke, but the nurses that are there during this patient’s difficult time is what makes all of the difference. One of the limitations I found in this article is when the article was explaining the findings, there really was not a whole lot of information regarding. It had diagrams of the tables, and the different interventions that were found, but that was it when it came to findings. There was not a whole lot of explanation what the results meant.

As said earlier, Henderson’s need theory incorporates the nursing metaparadigm. The concept of Henderson’s need theory includes assisting the patient in holistic nurse into recovery or death, in a way that the patient would care for themselves. The nursing care is not complete until the patient is able to care for themselves again (McEwen & Wills, 2019). The recovery of a stroke patient is very lengthy and in-depth, and the nurses at that patient’s side are not finished until the patient is as fully recovered as they can be. Henderson’s need theory contains 14 activities for client assistance. One of the activities reads, “avoid dangers in the environment and avoid injuring others,” (Nursing theories, 2012). Although all of her activities apply to the article, this one is especially important due to stroke patients are usually very unstable on their feet initially, and it is the nurse’s job to keep that patient safe and from any further injury to themselves or others.

Personal & Professional Experiences

In some of my previous nursing experience, I worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant in an assisted living. There were many stroke patients there, and although they were not in rehab and that was their home, there were still many precautions we needed to take when doing things like ambulation, ADL’s, and their follow-up care. I had a patient who had a stroke years before I started working there. He had to use a walker and actually did very well on his feet. He was able to drive to and from the grocery store. The limitation that he had the most trouble with was eating. He graduated from thickened food and liquid to normal food, but it was always a struggle getting him to eat an adequate meal. He also was a hoarder, and his daughter would always come visit him and help him clean out his closets. He was able to drive to the store, so every time his daughter would throw stuff away, he would just go and buy more things the next week. It was very interesting seeing the dynamic between him and his daughter and realizing that this was another challenge people face post-stroke. He was not always a hoarder, but his stroke changed that. Something so simple as that is another obstacle that families and patients deal with. This proves that nursing care is needed in all types of circumstances.

References

Froca Cavalcante, T., Lima Nemer, A. P., Moreire, R. P., & de Sousa Maciel Ferreira, J. E. (2018). Nursing interventions to the patient with stroke in rehabilitation. Journal of Nursing UFPE Online 12(5), 1430-1436.

McEwen, M. & Wills, E. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Nursing theories. (2012, February 4). Virginia Henderson’s need theory. Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Henderson.html