Dorothea Orem People This area focuses on people

Dorothea Orem People • • This area focuses on people and their human needs and adaptation that must take place to meet those needs. Nurse designs a “diagnostic operation that begins with the establishment of the nurse-patient relationship” (Black, 2014, p. 273). This allows the nurse to then explore with the patient what their current needs are and discuss ways they can make adaptations so their needs are met. Orem’s theory is based on the concept that people should do as much for themselves as they possibly can. It is the nurse’s job to evaluate and then encourage the patient to participate in their care as much as they are capable of doing (Black, 2014, p. 116).

Dorothea Orem Environment • Environment involves the family, culture and social interactions the patient is involved in and surrounded with (Black, 2014). • According to Taylor, “family is an important variable in conditioning the self-care requisites and self-care agency of individuals” (2001, p. 8). • Family must be involved in assisting with the self-care deficit and helping to provide care for the patient. • Family will provide a vital role of support for the patient to provide as much care as possible for themselves. • The nurse must be aware of the cultural system which the patient resides within in order to establish the best care possible for the patient.

Dorothea Orem Health • Health varies from day to day and is considered hard to define (Black, 2014). • As stated in Professional Nursing, “Parsons (1959) defined health as an individual’s optimum ability to perform his or her roles and tasks effectively” (Black, 2014, p. 250). • Health can include a “locus of control and health-related behaviors” (Black, 2014, p. 253). This includes people being influenced by either an internal or external view of the control they have over what is happening in their lives. • According to Orem’s theory, if people are focused on having to alter their behavior based on their health, this can affect their ability to cope with their current situation (Black, 2014).

Dorothea Orem Nursing • Nursing pulls together the person, environment and health • Orem’s self-care theory states “nurses should do for a person only those things the person cannot do without assistance to emphasize the patient’s active role” in their care (Black, 2014, p. 116). • In her model, “the nurse prescribes and regulates the nursing system on the basis of the patient’s self-care deficit” (Black, 2014, p. 273). • The nurse is the backbone and devises a plan and discusses it with the patient to allow the patient to play a role in as much of their care as physically, emotionally and mentally possible.

References Black, B. P. (2014). Professional nursing: concepts and challenges. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders. Taylor, S. G. (2001). Orem’s general theory of nursing and families. Nursing Science Quarterly, 14, 7 -9. doi: 10. 1177/08943180122108139