Orem's Self Care Deficit Theory Evaluation

The purpose of this paper will be to explain the components of Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit theory, the current significance of the theory, and the application of this particular nursing theory. A nursing theory is an explanation of a division of nursing that “describes, explains, predicts, or prescribes” that particular division. (Perry, Potter, Stockert, & Hall, 2013, p. 41). Orem developed her personal theory, the self-care deficit theory, to assess a patient’s ability to perform vital daily tasks and how it affected the patient’s. (Hartweg & Pickens, 2016). This theory is a grand theory, which means it can be used in almost all areas of nursing. There are five components or methods that compose this theory that nurses will practice when working with a patient who needs to reach the self-care deficit. (Edney, Jaime, & Young, 2016). It is used today and has been included in several studies that have proven it to be effective in shortening hospital visits when used on critically ill patients. (Hohdorf, 2010). This particular theory has helped advance nursing practice since Orem’s first publication.

I define my philosophy of nursing within the three nursing domains of person, health, and environment. My goal is to communicate the importance of nursing as a knowledge-based career, depending not only on the nurse fulfilling her role but also on the patient’s compliance. A patient must learn to provide self-care at home in the same capacity as the nurse would provide care in the clinical setting. I discuss various subjects within nursing. I explain why I want to be a nurse, what I believe a nurse’s role is, the different domains of nursing, and where I believe nursing will be in the future. My philosophy demonstrates the interdependence of the nursing domains. You cannot fully evaluate a person without evaluating their health,

I chose to do a concept analysis on ‘Self-Care.’ The nursing theory that uses this concept is Orem’s theory of nursing. This theory is a grand theory and consists of three minor interrelated theories; self-care,

Dorothea Orem’s philosophy in nursing is consistent with my own personal philosophy. Knowing your own capability and limits predicts almost always the final result. One must

Theory development stems from personal experiences, intuition, and knowledge of the theorist (Burns et al., 2013). When a scholar develops a theory, it has to be tested through research. The findings of the study are then presented to experts in the area of academics and the field of practice (Burns et al., 2013). The presentation of the findings allows experts to provide constructive criticism, highlight the pros and cons of the theory, and acknowledge whether or not the theory can be accepted as a guide to practice. This theory evaluation paper will give the reader a theory description, theory analysis, and an assessment of Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit theory of nursing (Alligood et al., 2010).

The nursing process does not merely treat the patient as a physical body, but rather treats the patient holistically. The central philosophy of Dorothea Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory "is that all patients want to care for themselves, and they are able to recover more quickly and holistically by performing their own self-care as much as they're able" (Dorothea Orem, 2012, Nursing Theory). However, although self-care may be the core of Orem's theory, the decision to engage in self-care must be facilitated by the patient's social and physical environment, of which the family can play a critical role in shaping.

The profession of nursing requires a capacity and joy for caring and healing others both mentally and physically. Nurses spend their careers caring for patients and their families often in the worst and most frightening periods of their lives. Nursing responsibilities can be lengthy, stressful and physically and emotionally demanding. The demands of the nursing profession coupled with the nursing shortage and longer work hours put even more stress on nurses. Despite these extreme demands, many nurses do not fully appreciate the importance self-care. Yet without proper care for themselves, nurses are not able to provide the best care for their patients.

Dorothy Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory and Sister Callista Roy’s Adaptation Model are considered as grand nursing theories. The grand nursing theories are a

Dorothea Orem is known as one of the foremost nursing theorists. She is credited with the development of a nursing grand theory, the self-care deficit nursing theory (SCDNT). The beginning of her career can be traced back to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1930’s. Though she was a Baltimore, Maryland native, Orem pursued her nursing education at Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C., graduating with baccalaureate and Master’s degrees in 1939 and 1945 respectively. Following her education, Orem held many job positions across multiple nursing disciplines, including working as a private nurse, nurse educator, administrator, director, and private contractor (McEwen & Wills, 2011).

Dorothea Orem was born in1914 in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her nursing diploma from the Providence Hospital School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., in 1930, before she went on to complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1939 and 1945 respectively. Orem occupied numerous high profile nursing positions during her lifetime. She was director of nursing in various institutions and was a member of group of nursing theorists who formulated the framework for North American Nursing Diagnosis Association. She proposed Self-Care Deficit Theory of Nursing, which is made up of

Dorthea E. Orem is a well recognized and a very well educated nursing theorist. She had a lot of experience as a nurse, and this greatly helped her provide insight into her views of nursing practice, education, and science. “The question that directed Orem’s thinking was, “What condition exists in a person when judgments are made that a nurse(s) should be brought into the situation?”” (Berbiglia & Banfield, 2014) Her biggest focus was the Self- Care Deficit Nursing Theory.

Research in the professional practice of nursing was built upon a wide variety of theories that were presented by many well-known nursing theorists. Nursing theories that may be recognized today include Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory, Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory, Madeleine Leininger’s Cultural Care Theory, and Hildegard Peplau’s Interpersonal Process Theory. These individuals and their respective theories

Orem’s Theory has helped lay the ground work for modern nursing. In 1971 her theory was first published and includes three related concepts: self-care, self-care deficit and nursing systems. Orem’s theory has given direction to many nurses, inspiring them to seek better ways to develop and express the knowledge base of nursing. The purpose of her theory is to help patients and their families maintain control of their health during their lifetime. The theory consists of three parts the nursing system, self-care and self-care deficit. Care is the primary focus and the ultimate goal is health restoration. Patients are allowed to have primary control over their health and letting healthcare providers educate, promote and encourage healthy

Dorothea Orem's self-care deficit theory was born while Dorothea Orem (1917-2007) was working in the Department of Health Education and Welfare (HEW) as a curriculum consultant. At this time in the history of the profession, nursing was just emerging as a unique academic discipline. Orem's theory was designed to answer the fundamental question: What is nursing? Orem defined nursing as a way of realizing every patient's desire to engage in self-care in a manner to "sustain life and health, recover from disease or injury and cope" with the consequences of major health events and daily life (El-Kader n.d.). Major assumptions of the theory include that "people should be self-reliant and responsible for their own care and others in their family needing care" (Dorothea Orem's self-care deficit theory, 2012, Current Nursing). Fundamentally, nursing and the nursing process is designed to enhance self-care and to address deficits in self-care.

Dorothea Orem created the self-care theory in 1959 and continued to build upon her theory until 2001. The purpose of Orem’s theory was to define nursing, discuss the relationship among the nurse and the patient, and to promote a clear understanding of the scope of nursing (Taylor, Self-Care Deficit Theory of Nursing, 2006). Today, Orem’s theory is widely known and is utilized in nursing curriculum, as well as continuing education topics for healthcare providers.