Personal History And Career : Dorothea Orem

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,

Dorothea Orem is a notable figure in the nursing community, receiving several Honorary Doctorate degrees (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Orem was a member of the Board of Health in Indiana from 1949 until 1957 (McEwen & Wills, 2014). She received her first form of nursing education at the Providence Hospital School of Nursing in Washington, DC. She continued to educate her self by attaining her master’s degree in nursing from Catholic University in 1945. Orem experienced nursing from both practical and educational perspectives,

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.

Orem and Roy have the different attitude toward the concept of nursing. Orem sees nursing as an intervention to meet the daily needs for self-care and medical-care patients need ("Dorothea Orem 's Self," 2011.)

Imogene King was born in 1921in Iowa. Growing up, she dreamed of being a teacher but began nursing school to escape her small town life. She graduated with a diploma in nursing in 1945, then three years later earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education and worked as medical-surgical instructor and an assistant director at St. John’s School of Nursing until 1958, fulfilling her lifelong dream of being a teacher wither nursing career. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Nursing in 1957 and a doctorate in education in 1961 (Imogene King, 2011). King then became an associate professor at Loyola University in Chicago and formed a master’s degree program that was based on her nursing concepts, which later became the framework for her theory.

The wanted poster I created was a way of introducing the general concepts of Orem’s model on self-care, supported by her education and status in nursing. It gave a brief synopsis of her elite standing’s in the nursing profession and an introduction to the reader on some aspects of her theory of self-care. Orem had a very distinguished career in nursing, and early on she knew nurses need to provide the assistance necessary to meet daily self-care needs (Taylor, 2011). She received her Master’s in Education and served on the curriculum subcommittee at Catholic University where she once attended, here she recognized a need to continue developing a conceptualization of nursing (Marso, 2012). This Poster introduces some of Orem’s beliefs which align with here metaparadigm. Orem’s

ENVIRONMENT Context where self-care occurs. Can hinder or support self-care activities. Includes the family, work, community, health care system. Person (client/patient) self-care deficits are the result of environmental situations. HEALTH Promoted by adequate self-care Major areas for "self-care" patient education Maintaining health Enhancing health Includes: exercise & physical fitness nutrition and weight control stress management maintenance of social support systems environmental control

Many different factors can affect these abilities and must be considered by nurses when providing comprehensive care. She referred to this new thought process as the Self-care Deficit Theory of Nursing, which also is known as the Orem Model of Nursing. Orem published the basis for this theory in her book Nursing: Concepts of Practice in 1971. The Self-care Deficit Theory of Nursing earned Orem much acclaim and respect within the medical world. She became a lead theorist in nursing education and practice for the rest of her career. Her book, Nursing: Concepts of Practice, is still widely read today as it enters into its sixth edition. Wayne,

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.

"Orem's theory-based practice facilitates the application of nursing practice in "one voice," guiding the nursing role within the healthcare setting" (Bernier, 2002,

In nursing school, I remembered learning about Florence Nightingale and her impact in nursing. Still to this day, her teachings and work to advance nursing is discussed. The nursing profession has grown and evolved a great deal since the times of Nightingale. However, visionaries such as her and their theories have been the ones making that happen. “The first three American training schools for nurses, modeled after Nightingale's famous school at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, opened in 1873” (Black, 2014, p. 26). As nursing grew and more work was done to advance nursing as a profession, the developing of professional associations such as ANA and NLNE helped further that goal. As author Black (2014) continues, “The precursor to the National League for Nursing, the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses, was formed to address issues in nursing education. The society changed its name in 1912 to the National League of Nursing Education (NLNE) and in 1952 became the National League for Nursing (NLN). This event held during the Chicago World's Fair became a pivotal point in nursing history. Three years later, in 1896, Isabel Hampton Robb founded the group that eventually became the American Nurses Association

Since the early years nurses have initiated many ideas that impact how we care for our patients that allows for many positive outcomes for patients and the collaborative teams that are involved in the patients care. In the nineteenth century three women stand out as trailblazers in the nursing field, Nightingale, Seacole, and Robb (In Snowden, In Donnell, & In Duffy, 2010, p.22). While none of the three nurses could be considered actual theorist at that point in time most of nursing theory can be found in their work. The foundation of what we learn in nursing school has evolved from a nursing theorist. Whether it may be something as simple as having sanitary conditions for the injured that was first introduced by Florence Nightingale.

Curriculum design in nursing education has become an increasingly sophisticated process throughout the past decade. "Theories" of nursing have emerged, and have become the basis for various curricula models. One model which is relevant to nursing education, practice and research, is that of Dorothea Orem. Nurse educators are constantly bombarded with material regardmg various nursing "theories." Each nurse educator would benefit by having some familiarity with the models of the major theorists of our day. Dorothea Orem s theory is the basis for numerous curricula across the country. Since curriculum design and redesign

Dorothea F. Orem was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1914 (Weir, 2007). She studied at the Providence Hospital School of Nursing in Washington DC and the Catholic University of America. Her original idea evolved when she worked as a nurse-consultant at the Indiana State Board of Health between 1949 and 1957. During her travels, she observed nurses' ability to do nursing and their inability to talk about it (Weir). While

Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory discusses how in certain situations a patient may not be able to care for themselves. This causes a self-care deficit and that is when the nurse helps the patient until they are able to take care of themselves once again. Assisting patients with deficits are skills that nurses are required to possess. In my practice as a nurse my job is to coordinate services to maximize the independence of the patient and to ensure that the environment in which the patient lives in is safe and supportive for their needs. Daily I apply Orem’s theory. The purpose of this paper is to show how Orem’s Self-Care Theory is important and how it relates to my nursing practice.