Nursing theories provide structure and guidelines for nursing practice and education. Two of the main theories used today were created by Hildegard Peplau and Dorothea Orem, and have had a large impact on the nursing community. These theories have created many new and innovative ways of looking at the care of patients, and have led to more patient centered care as opposed to disease centered. . Peplau’s interpersonal theory and Orem’s self-care model have many similarities and differences in their framework and main concepts, as well as in their use of the four metaparadigms and the generalizability of their theories. They have many practical applications, and are still used for communication …show more content…
Orem viewed her clients as “biopsychosocial beings, capable and willing to provide care for themselves and dependent others” (Comley, 1994, p. 756). The self-care model is divided into three subsections: self-care, self-care deficit, and nursing systems. Self-care is learned behavior which controls human functioning, and the self-care deficit occurs when patients are facing limitations in taking care of themselves due to their health conditions. This leads to the nursing systems which is when a nurse steps in to help the patient meet their needs. Orem studied the effects of “multiple lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, and exercise, reminding nurses that patients can look after their own health and must learn to care for themselves” (Thorne, 2014, p.61). She thought that people only need nursing care in situations where they have limitations in caring for themselves, and she believed the nurse needed to “continue the therapeutic care of the patient and assist the patient in meeting components of self-care in order to sustain health and recover from illness” (Seed, & Torkelson, 2012, …show more content…
According to Forchuk and Dorsay (1995) Peplau’s theory “tended to focus on the one-to-one, therapeutic nurse-client relationship” (p. 110), and the theory cannot easily be transferred to a family unit. While Peplau’s theory is very useful when dealing with psychiatric patients, it is not very generalized, and the self-care model is easier to apply to a greater range of patients. Peplau also believes that a patient should be able to interact with the nurse in order to have a successful relationship, limiting the generalizability even more to patients who were stable and responsive. Orem spent time working to develop a more standardized nursing curriculum, therefore Orem’s “work influenced nursing sciences, nursing practice, and nursing education” (Taylor, 2011,