Self-care theory by Dorthea Orem

Dorthea Orem's Self-Care Theory

Dorthea Orem's self-care theory asserts that people have a natural ability and intrinsic capability to engage in self-care, and that the potential to achieve this aim is the emphasis of nursing. The idea was initially published in "Nursing: Concepts of Practice" in 1971, which led to its division into the theories of self-care, self-care deficiency, and nursing system (Current Nursing, 2012).

Self-Care Deficiency

A self-care deficiency occurs when a person lacks the ability to participate in self-care. The assumption in the implementation of this theory is that people are distinct and individual entities and care is dependent on the particular behaviors that are critical in promoting self-care behaviors. The understanding of the significance of self care thus results from the assessment of those in need of self care and who require nursing intervention strategies as they need it to be self-sufficient in meeting the deficit.

Applications in Nurse Practitioner's Practice

The applications of the theory in shaping a nurse practitioner’s practice can be defined in stages of a patients’ health-illness continuum. Patients in this perspective imply that those who are in need of nursing care and lack the capacity for self care due to injury or the occurrence of an illness (Simmons, 2010). Patients who are eligible for the nurse practitioner’s intervention could also include those who are in need of partial nursing care from the process of recovering from an injury or illness. The primary objective, therefore, is that the theory enables the practitioner to assist patients in becoming capacitated to engage in their own care.

Assessment, Diagnosis, and Evaluation

To achieve the ability to be self-sufficient, the nursing process is defined in three categories including the impact of the theory in the assessment, diagnosis, and the evaluations stages. The assessment phase in the perspective of Orem’s nursing process is described through the capacity to check the patient’s health, the determination of the person’s health by the practitioner, and the assessment of health status by the patient themselves (Simmons, 2010). Other key data collection areas include the application of the theory in determining the health goals in terms of lifestyle, the evaluation of the patient’s requirements for self-care, and the capacity to execute self-care.

Nursing Diagnosis

The second step in the theoretical application of Orem’s self-care concept is in the nursing diagnosis. Nurse designs are designed to be supportive, educative, and compensatory and thus results in two courses of action. It is involved in bringing out a good layout of the demands of the patients in achieving self-care and in the identification of the techniques that can be used to make an effective and efficient compensation for the required health needs. The relevance in the application of this theory is in the determination of the plans that are in line with scientific rationale (Current Nursing, 2012).

Implementation and Evaluation

The third and last application of the theory in nursing is in the implementation and evaluation of the appropriate mechanisms for self-care sufficiency. The goals of nursing at this stage involve enabling the patient and those around them, particularly the family, to engage the self-care issues and attain the targeted objective (Simmons, 2010). It is especially important to evaluate the results based on a standard or those specified in a nursing research design so that there is a traceable flow of meeting nursing goals. It is, however, critical to ensure that the actions are targeted at the etiology component of the diagnosis.

Reference

Current Nursing. (2012). Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Theory. Nursing Theories. Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/self_care_deficit_theory.html

Simmons, L. (2010). Dorthea Orem’s self care theory as related to nursing practice in hemodialysis. Nephrology Nursing Journal : Journal of the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association, 36(4), 419–421.