Week 1 DQs
DQ 1
Consider the ways in which the nursing of families has changed during the last
several decades. What current issues or trends influence the provision of nursing
care to families today?
Family systems are becoming increasingly much more active, varied, as well as
complicated in today’s world and for that reason, an increasing number of problems or
tendencies come up which affect the supply of nursing care to households these days
(Cancian, Meyer, Reed, 2010; Friedman, Bowden, Jones, 2003). These types of
problems as well as tendencies have created a number of problems for nurses these
days specifically in relation to practice, training, and research. Present problems in
family nursing incorporate nursing practice, training, and research problems, as well as
policy problems (Friedman et al., 2003).
A practice problem mentioned by Friedman et al. (2003), for instance, is the gap which
exists between hypothesis and research and clinical practice, in which nurses encounter
trouble in actualizing knowledge depending on theory and research due to the creation
of technology, economical tendencies, variety, such as “lack of excellent detailed family
analysis resources and intervention strategies” and sticking to the medical models
(Bowden, Dickey, & Greenberg, 1998; Hanson, 2001, cited in Friedman et al. 2003, p.
42-43).
Studying material relating to family education is yet another problem, in which nursing
teachers encounter a problem of what material regarding family education is suitable for
undergraduate and graduate nursing students (Friedman et al., 2003).
Research problem pertains to inadequacy of nursing research which provides scientific
proof to support nursing interventions and techniques in nursing care provision to
households (Friedman et al., 2003). This problem usually requires the requirement for
much more research studies on nursing interventions for households so as to get a
database of best practices or evidence-based practice tips where high quality family
care can be derived.
Policy problem pertains to obvious deficiency of nurses’ participation in developing
family health policies (Friedman et al., 2003). Family nurses are questioned to advocate
family problems by becoming more and more involved in every stages of political
system understanding that legislation problems at the local, state, and national levels
affect family systems (Friedman et al., 2003). This problem entails assessing problems
and policies being suggested, and helping in creating as well as applying positive
policies and laws regarding families (Friedman et al., 2003).
The implication of all these problems for nurses is the requirement for thorough
understanding of family systems with the expectation that this type of consciousness will
assist achieve overall quality health not just for households, but persons as well as the
international community too.
Week 1 DQ 2
What advantages does a theoretical framework for nursing of families have in
providing care to the family? Which viewpoint or theory have you had experience
with that is applicable to family nursing and how?
Theoretical frameworks are the foundation of nursing work. I have always believed that
nursing is not nursing without its knowledge in line with the necessary theoretical
frameworks. Just as with other theoretical frameworks in other nursing areas, family
theoretical frameworks offer tips for holistic, very effective, as well as high quality
nursing attention and foundation for the growth and development of more hypotheses,
frameworks, and models which improve family nursing practice.
The 3 categories of hypotheses based on Friedman, Bowden, Jones (2003) are: (1)
nursing hypotheses and/or conceptual styles, (2) family social science hypotheses, as
well as (3) family treatment hypotheses, as well as every classification has got its pros
in providing care to households.
The benefit of nursing theories/conceptual models to family nursing attention is
their top quality “to inform practice, as well as family practice, in turn, helps the
creation of family nursing hypothesis” (Friedman, Bowden, Jones, 2003, p. 62)
that is obviously viewed as a mutual connection between theory and practice.
This collaborative connection increases the level of nursing care for households.
Family social science hypotheses are said to be the “most nicely developed as
well as educational with regards to how households work, the environment-family
interchange, communications within the household, the way the household
modifies with time, as well as the family’s response to health and sickness”
(Friedman, Bowden, Jones, 2003).
Family treatment hypotheses are thought to be the most practical of the 3 when it
comes to its application to nursing work due to its relevance to practice which
comes not from educational fields, but from nursing professional work (Friedman,
Bowden, Jones, 2003).
The general benefit of the 3 categories is their complementary and integrative
characteristic of developing emerging nursing hypotheses (Friedman, Bowden, Jones,
2003).
A lot of theoretical viewpoints have formed the way in which I provide care to
households; however the most would be that of Neuman System Model (NSM) by Betty
Neuman (2005), which I am pretty acquainted and had experienced with. The model is
a detailed model for family systems which see the household like customer and open
system, incorporates holistic (physiologic, psychological, sociocultural, developmental,
and religious) attention, as well as the 3 stages of avoidance (primary, secondary, and
tertiary) (Neuman, 2005). Due to its detailed as well as dynamic characteristic, I find this
model most useful to family nursing in the critical care unit.