Peplau's Theory Analysis

Peplau defines nursing as the therapeutic interpersonal, serial, goal- oriented process. A health-focused human relationship( Meleis, p 165, 2012)

The framework for creating a therapeutic relationship is built on the nurse’s ability to show empathy towards the client. Empathy is being able to put oneself in the patient’s shoes, to feel the same things they feel

The nurse understands she has the knowledge of the disease process, and the patient has the knowledge of how the disease affects himself. The second phase of the relationship is the working phase, where the patient identifies who can help them with their health care problem. The nurse looks at the health care problem from the patient perspective and begins educating the patient on their health care problem, therefore the educated patient is better able to collaborate with the nurse to determine what interventions are necessary and acceptable to the patient to achieve a patient centered health related goal. The termination phase is the final phase of the theory, the nurse and the patient determine how the patient will maintain their progress and continue to work on the health care goals independently without the assistance of nursing. (Deane, & Fain, 2016).

My personal definition of nursing is taking care of my patient as a whole; using my knowledge, being compassionate and caring, respectful and honest. Taking care of the; spiritual, physical and emotional aspect of the patient, and taking into consideration their family and environment. Learning about the different theorists I associate myself the most with Hildegard Peplau. Peplau believed that the relationship between the patient and the nurse was focus of attention, rather than the patient only as the unit of attention. (Chitty & Black p.314-315). Using Peplau’s theory my relationship begins with my patients as strangers and I try to

Hildegard Peplau’s middle-range theory, Interpersonal Relations, established in 1948 and highlighted the nurse-patient relationship as the groundwork of nursing practice. Peplau supports each role individually, the nurse and the patient, by ensuring that equal participation is implemented to reach a mutual goal. For example, the role of the patient reflects vulnerability and the expectation to be open to the health care providers throughout care and treatment plan. Subsequently, the nurse is supposed to facilitate a reciprocated relationship by noting the client’s behavior, defining the client’s illness, creating the most proper care for the client, understanding the physician’s treatment plan and confirming it, and intervening when required (Sue Penckofer, 2013).

Effective nursing practice is in need of on an effective therapeutic relationship between the nurse and the client. This instruction addresses the qualities and capacities of an effective therapeutic relationship, the state of knowledge, and the information needed to be effective. To implement a therapeutic relationship effectively, hospitals characteristics must be supportive. The therapeutic relationship is also known as the helping alliance and it refers to the bond between a healthcare professional and a client. It is the means of professional hopes to involve with, so as to change the outcome result of the client. This relationship is significant to the client’s orientation

This theory describes the different phases that a nurse-client relationship goes through. The phases that my patient and I will most likely be working in are the orientation and the identification phases because our relationship will be new. Our interaction will focus on building a mutual trust and understanding, as well as answer basic questions as to why my patient is here and things that she has been struggling with. Depending on how long my patient has been in the program, she may be open to exploring more of her feelings and sharing more about herself with me. Focusing on developing a good nurse-client relationship will help me during my interaction with my patient and will help me understand her needs better.

The theory contained four major concepts that can be considered theoretically simple. Although the theory can be considered simple, it does not fit the idea of parsimony because it mainly accounts for psychiatric nurses specifically. However, the theory can still be applied generally to relationships with clients and any healthcare profession. Another consideration is that the client has to be able to perceive difficulties and therefore an infant or young child, comatose client, or mentally disabled client limits the generality to whom it is applied. The accessibility of Peplau’s theory can be validated through the indicators of an effective interpersonal relationship with empathic linkages and progression through the stages. Being able to assess behaviors is an ability accessible to most, which can be accessible to nursing practice whether it is in the community setting or hospital setting. The importance of Peplau’s theory contributes to the valued nursing goal of wellness by improving relationships that strengthen self-worth, provide a sense of connectedness with others, and support self-confidence.

One of the expected outcomes by the application of this theory would be “linking client-nurse interactive phenomena with client outcomes” (Byrd, 2006, p. 271). During this research Dr

Acute psychiatric inpatient nursing is primarily focused on the assessment and treatment of patients admitted in times of crisis. To effectively assess a patients needs a nurse requires an overview of the patient’s interactions with their external & internal environment. Fundamental to this been successful is the nurse patient relationship, forming a trusting relationship and maintaining this throughout the patient’s care. The nurse’s ability to listen, talk and understand are identified as key to positive patient experiences of feeling supported and cared for (Gilburt et al 2008).

A nurse-patient relationship is the basic requirements in all practice settings. Its usage is to manage communication between an organization and a public while maintaining boundaries in the therapeutic relationship. Based on Peplau’s interpersonal theory, communication takes place in a nurse-client relationship where therapeutic process occurs involving complex factors such as environment, attitudes, practices, and beliefs in the dominant culture (seu.edu, 2015). The actions of each person in a nurse-patient relationship is measured on the collaboration of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Nurse’s work to attain, maintain, and restore the patient’s health until patient have fulfilled the health care needs. Patient must be guided and provided a well-respected environment until a better health and specific needs are fully considered in the relationship. In this kind of setting, nurse’s must create relationship with patients by communicating receptivity, assimilating the concepts of empathy, trust, genuineness, respect, and confidentiality into their interactions.

The therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is known as a close and consistent connection approaching during patients’

By giving nurses a sense of identity, nursing theory can help patients, managers and other healthcare professionals to recognize the unique contribution that nurses make to the healthcare service (Draper 1990).Hildegard Peplau, one of the role model of nursing theorist, established a theory of interpersonal relationships in nursing. Her reason is the goal of the nurse-client relationship is to give a quality nursing care moving forward to health promotion and maintenance. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a basic assessment of her theory.

The CAEN Decision Making Model for Nursing Practice Framework was chosen for this analysis due to its incorporation of foundational knowledge, thinking processes, context and decision-making processes. The model places major emphasis on the quality of relationships, salience and pattern recognition, healing initiatives, critical reflection to analyze a situation pre and post and to value different ways of knowing. The client along with the nurse is intertwined in the center of the framework highlighting the importance of their relationship. All critical decision making for nursing practice is the client’s lived experience of health and healing; which is essential to the inquiry process where a nurse will enter into and become engaged in the new relationship. In this situation, being directly involved with the patient provided an opportunity to create a relationship on the basis of providing health and healing measures (CAEN, 2008).

Nursing theory is the backbone of nursing. It is very important in the application of evidence-based practice (EBP). The functions of a theory are to narrow and provide specific information for the analysis of initially confusing behaviors, situations, and events (Fawcett & Madeya 2013). Moreover, nursing theory helps to improve not only the quality of care that we are providing to our patients but, they also help us make better clinical decisions. As a matter of fact, nursing theory gives the nurse a framework for organizing and analyzing information as well as a base for identifying with their patients throughout the nurse-patient relationship (Schick, 2015). I am very much interested in all the theories. The one that I relate to the most is Hildegard Peplau’s theory. It is a middle range theory that focuses on interpersonal relations. This theory teaches us about how to interact with our patients so that they feel more in control of their treatment. In this paper, I will be talking about the importance of nursing, the summary of Peplau's theory, and how as future nurse practitioners, we can apply it.