Metaparadigm: The Four Basic Concepts Of Nursing Theory

The nursing metaparadigm concepts described by Fawcett (as cited in McEwen & Willis, 2011), are a primary phenomena of interest to a discipline, which identifies globally by ways in which, nursing can deal with those phenomena in a distinctive and applicable manner. The functional aspects of the meta-paradigm according to Kim (as cited in McEwen & Willis, 2011), involve a combination of intellectual and

Throughout the history of nursing, there have been many nursing theorists who have each made significant contributions towards the shaping of nursing knowledge. Each of these theorists have differing perspectives and interpretations of how each domain of the nursing metaparadigm fit into their respective theories. The four domains of the nursing metaparadigm are: person, environment, health and illness, and nursing. The purpose of this reflection is to provide an overview of the domains related to the metaparadigm of nursing as well as to introduce this author’s perspective on their developing personal philosophy of nursing. In this paper, the author will take a closer look at each of these areas, how they are individually defined, and how they each fit into the nursing metaparadigm as a whole. At the conclusion of this overview, readers will be introduced to how these theorists and their perspectives have enabled this author to begin to create their own philosophy of nursing.

Some researchers have suggested that other concepts should be added to the nursing metaparadigm. For

When it comes to the philosophy of nursing is revolves around 4 metaparadigms which are the 4 most general areas of the nursing practice. The 4 metaparadigms that are the main focus are nursing, person, health and environment. All 4 of these related to both the patient and the nursing action. The first metaparadigm is nursing, which consist of the action of the nurse as well as the interventions.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss my personal beliefs pertaining to the profession of nursing. As well I will discuss the (4) metaparadigms in nursing which are known as; human beings, environment, health, and nursing, and my personal beliefs on these concepts and how they have similarities to the nursing philosophy of a nursing theorist.

Kristen M. Swanson may not be as well-known as Florence Nightingale in the nursing field, but she has made great contributions with the Theory of Caring that has been used in many hospitals, even internationally, for their framework to guide patient care. Through the study of her practice, I have realized much of her practice is reflected in mine. This paper will present the basic concept of nursing known as the metaparadigm concepts of person, health, environment, and nursing as presented by Swanson, as well as provide my own philosophy of nursing, which in many ways mirrors Swanson’s.

Moore, (Moore, 2008) reported a nursing metaparadigm of four basic concepts: "person, health, environment, and nursing." Another author suggested the core

A metaparadigms in nursing carefully act like a solid spine that support as a base rock the nursing field. The four essentials components of metaparadigms in nursing are the person, the environment, the patient’s health status and the nursing practice. A nurse practitioner will use all this concepts to assist in advance critical thinking skills by assessing the needs of individual and families while developing a quality cost-effective health promotion and illness prevention care plans.

The metaparadigm has four central concepts to the discipline of nursing and they are interrelated although they have different meanings. They are:

Metaparadigm identifies the phenomena of central interest to a nursing discipline. It is made up of concepts and propositions that define discipline that are extremely abstract. It fails to provide a definite direction for activities like nursing practice and research. Its main function is to identify the basic subject matter of the discipline which are defined by Fawcett (2005) as human beings, environment,

Orem’s four metaparadigm principles are important in understanding the theory as a whole. Nursing is the actions performed by nurses to assist patients towards the goal of self-care. Health describes a patient being structurally and functionally whole. An environment that promotes self-care is equally as important as human’s being allowed to function at their highest self-care level.

The discipline of nursing is characterized into four metaparadigm concepts. The first concept is person. I believe that nursing requires me to think of each person as an individual and take time to be with that person using human-to-human interaction. Working in the emergency room I try my best to listen to each patient with proper eye contact to provide the visual cues of compassion. The second is environment. My nursing philosophy also incorporates all of the patient’s surroundings and their situation that may be causing an illness or a nursing need. It could be the people

Florence Nightingale’s vision of nursing in the mid-1800s began an evolution of nursing philosophies and theories that encouraged the progression and development of nursing knowledge, quality of care, and the advancement of nursing from a vocation to an academic discipline and profession (Alligood, 2013, pp. 3-7). As nursing knowledge and theory flourished, it became necessary to structure nursing theories into an integrated system. Jacqueline Fawcett’s proposal of four global nursing concepts “as a nursing metaparadigm served as an organizing structure for existing nursing frame-works and introduced a way of organizing individual theoretical works in a meaningful structure” (Alligood, 2013, p. 4). The four concepts of the metaparadigm of nursing include: person, environment, health, and nursing. By understanding the history of nursing development and the metaparadigm of nursing, one can explore this author’s personal philosophy of nursing in respect to the four concepts of the metaparadigm of nursing.

By outlining the focus and boundaries of the discipline nursing is able to highlight areas of study that are significant to nursing education and practice, all of which can be traced back to the fundamental concepts. These central ideas feature as integral to nursing development and continue to demonstrate their influence by shaping the way nurses learn and do. The concepts of person, health, environment and nursing are all interrelated, as are the concepts put forward by Newman, Smith, Dexheimer-Pharris and Jones (2008), and can be identified as prominent in nursing studies and the development of nursing theories. The nursing theories based on these fundamental concepts serve as the building blocks for all nursing knowledge and as Smith and Parker (2010) explain “the primary purpose of nursing theories is to further the development and understanding of nursing practice” (p. 8). The structure of knowledge as described by Smith and Parker provides a clear example of how nursing metaparadigms have implications for all levels of nursing theory, education and research from the most abstract or global concepts to the more concrete

The health promotion model is greatly significant to nursing as it identifies and focuses on three main concepts: individual characteristics and experiences, behavior-specific cognitions and affects, and behavioral outcomes (Petiprin, 2016). Pender addresses and clearly defines each metaparadigm concept and propositions in relation to her conceptual model. Pender (2011) defines humans as biopsychosocial beings that actively seek to control their behavior that is formed by the environment which is made of social, cultural, and physical aspects where life occurs. Pender believes that the environment can be manipulated by both individuals and nursing in order to produce behaviors that optimize one’s health