Give a brief background of the chosen theorist. Explain their significance in the field of nursing.
Classification of the Theory:
Identify whether the theory is a Grand Theory, Middle Range Theory, or Practice-Level Theory.
Theoretical Overview:
Discuss the model or core concept of the chosen theory. Explain its main ideas and how it is structured.
Applicability to Nursing Practice:
Provide clinical or professional examples to show how this theory is applied in actual nursing practice.
Implications for Nursing Research:
Explain how this theory can contribute to advances in nursing practice and research.
Sample Answer
Dorothea Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (SCDNT)
Background and Significance
Dorothea Orem (1914–2007) was an American nursing theorist and educator known for developing one of the most influential and widely applied conceptual models in nursing. Her work began in the 1950s and evolved over several decades.
Orem's significance in nursing lies in her clear articulation of the unique domain of nursing practice: assisting patients when they are unable to meet their own basic needs. She shifted the focus from merely carrying out medical tasks to understanding the patient's capacity for self-care. Her theory provides a structured, logical framework for nurses to assess patient deficits and systematically plan care, making it fundamental to nursing education, practice, and administration globally.
Classification of the Theory
The Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (SCDNT) is classified as a Grand Theory (or Conceptual Model).
Grand theories are abstract, broad in scope, and complex, providing an overall framework for structuring nursing ideas and professional practice. SCDNT seeks to define and structure the entire field of nursing practice by outlining three interconnected theoretical components.
Theoretical Overview: The Core Concepts
Orem's SCDNT is composed of three interrelated theories:
Theory of Self-Care (SC): This component defines self-care as the performance of activities that individuals initiate and perform on their own behalf to maintain life, health, and well-being. It identifies three types of Self-Care Requisites (goals):
Universal: Needs common to all humans (e.g., air, water, food, elimination, activity/rest).
Developmental: Needs related to life stages or events (e.g., adjusting to a new job, dealing with loss).
Health Deviation: Needs arising from illness, injury, or medical treatment (e.g., managing a colostomy, taking insulin).
Theory of Self-Care Deficit (SCD): This is the central idea. A self-care deficit exists when an individual's Therapeutic Self-Care Demand (TSCD)—all the care required to meet the requisites—exceeds their Self-Care Agency (SCA)—their inherent ability to perform self-care. The existence of this deficit defines when nursing is needed.
Theory of Nursing Systems (NS): This component describes how the nurse acts to assist the patient, specifying the type of assistance required to overcome the deficit.
Wholly Compensatory System: The nurse performs virtually all the patient's self-care (e.g., a patient in a coma or in immediate post-operative recovery).
Partially Compensatory System: Both the nurse and the patient perform care tasks; the patient may participate in some self-care while the nurse assists with or performs complex tasks (e.g., a post-stroke patient learning to walk with assistance).
Supportive/Educative System: The patient can perform self-care but requires assistance in decision-making, gaining knowledge, or support (e.g., counseling a newly diagnosed diabetic on diet and exercise).