Nursing Paradigms: Human Needs, Interactive, And Unitary Process

Topic 4 DQ 1 QUESTION 
Explain, in your own words, the difference between the three paradigms: human needs, interactive, and unitary process. Which of these best fits your philosophy of nursing?
JUST AN EXAMPLE FROM A FRIEND. 
A paradigm is an organizing framework that contains concepts, theories, assumptions, beliefs, values and principles that form the way a discipline interprets the subject matter with which it is concerned. It describes work to be done and frames an orientation within which the work will be accomplished. ( McEwen & Wills, 2014). McEwen and Wills classified theories as human needs, interactive process and unitary process. The human needs paradigm only recognizes the scientific method as a source of knowledge. Due to experiments conducted on artificial, controlled situation, the result may not apply to natural situation. In interactive process natural method of inquiry is used to obtain knowledge. In this process great emphasis is given on quantitative research and qualitative research is acceptable. The unitary process views humans as unitary beings, which are self-evolving and self-regulating. Humans are surrounded in, and always and at the same time interacting with, a universal, self-evolving energy system. These theories agree that human beings are to be known by their pattern of energy and ways of being distant and different from others. In this process quantitative and qualitative research methods are used to test hypothesis. In my assumption human needs theory fits nursing due to the involvement of human beings in determining nursing care. (GCU,2014).
Reference
GCU (2014). Overview of Grand Nursing Theories.
McEwen, M., & Wills E. M. (2014). Theoretical basis for nursing (4th ed.). PA: Lippincott.
Thank you for beginning the paradigm dialogue. The paradigm that aligns with my world view and nursing philosophy is the interactive models. I believe as humans we are holistic beings who interact with other elements. Those elements are our families, other groups, and communities. Many of our interactions have the potential to impact health and must be addressed by nursing care. I am particularly fond of Watson's Caring theory. I like the 10 carative factors (p. 184).
McEwen, M. & Wills, E. (2014). Theoretical basis for nursing (4th ed.). PA: Lippincott.
Topic 4 DQ 2 QUESTION 
Select one of the grand or middle-range nursing theories. How does the theory demonstrate evidence of the utilization of social, behavioral, or bioscience theories?
This is an EXAMPLE FROM A FRIEND/ 
Neuman's Systems Theory developed in 1970 was as teaching tool for graduate students and utilizes many different theories that inspired Betty Neuman’s own practice: The Gestalt theory, General Adaptation Syndrome, General Systems Theory, and the teachings of Pierre DeChardin, a philosopher and priest. The model highlights the interaction between the patient and environment in an effort to maintain a sense of balance and wellness. The patient can be defined as a person, family, or community that interacts with different variables that are developmental, psychosocial, spiritual, physiological, and psychosocial. The variables can be stressors or they can be restorative. These variables make up the patient's environment. The nurse’s role within the Systems Model is to recognize the patient as a unique individual with their own goals, beliefs, values, and coping abilities.
Neuman's theory demonstrates social, behavioral and bioscience theories in the following ways:
• Social theory- Neuman's emphasis on stress and the body's reaction to stress. Stress response theories describe, predict and explain living organisms’ physiological reactions to life stressors. Many nursing, medicine and psychology theories have been based on stress response theories in the past.
• Behavioral theory-Neuman's 10 propositions of the model are essentially the person's behavior to the stressors and the perceived barriers. 
• Bioscience theory- Neuman's adaptation of system theory where instead of reducing the body to just its pasts, Neuman focuses on the relations between the organs and cells and how they react with the whole body. Bioscience theory benefits nursing theory because it utilizes evivence-based and scientific patient care.
Nursing, as a science discipline, should have theories based on systemic structures to enhance organiztion and clarification of patients increasing complex needs.
References: 
McEwen, M. & Wills, E. (2014). Theoretical basis for nursing. (4th ed). PA: Lippincott.
Rice, V.H. (n.d.).Theories of stress and its relationship to health. Retrieved from http://www(dot)sagepub(dot)com/upm-data/44175_2.pdf
Overview of Nursing Theory NOTES
Introduction
Florence Nightingale was the first nursing theorist of modern nursing. Her writings created the foundation for nursing practice as we know it today. There was an extensive gap of time between these initial theoretical formulations and the development of explicit nursing theory. In the period of time between l950 and 1980, several theoretical frameworks or grand theories were developed and presented to the community of nurses as a means of defining nursing and guiding scientific inquiry.
Nursing's Multiple Paradigms
One of the most overwhelming issues in evaluating theories is the sheer number of theories that have been researched and published by authors from the United States and the international community.
Metaparadigm of Nursing
The reports of research and exploration of nursing theory from around the world supports the universality of the metaparadigm of nursing. The metaparadigm encompasses four concepts that determine the scope of nursing knowledge and practice: human being, health, environment, and nursing.
Categorizing Grand Nursing Theories
Likewise, the grand nursing theories (conceptual models) can be categorized to make them seem more manageable. The categories include several options such as the scope of the theory, the nursing domains, and theory as a paradigm or worldview created by modern theorists. For example, McEwen and Wills (2011) organize the theories as human needs, interactive processes, and unitary processes. Each of these has distinctive definitions for the metaparadigm concepts, which will is explored more fully in Module 5.
A succinct review of the theorist's background helps to place the theory in context of the time when the theory was developed−another important criterion for distinguishing among theoretical perspectives. The person who creates the theory is not working in isolation. A prime example is the world of Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War. Had the war never happened, Nightingale might never have dedicated her life to nursing.
In addition to knowing or considering who the theorist is, a view of the philosophical underpinnings of the theorist and nursing at the time help to explain the development of each theory. Based on nursing practice in a given time, theorists defined and tested assumptions, concepts, and relationships between concepts.
Similar to evaluating the context of the theory, viability of the theory is determined by the usefulness, testability, and clarity of the theoretical statements and explanations. One characteristic valued by all is the ability to say much in few words-the concept of parsimony, especially in the context of today's growing nursing shortage. Nurses have to make every moment count. Parsimonious theories reduce the number of variables to take into consideration when making moment-to-moment decisions.
Grand, Middle-Range, and Practice Theory
Nursing theories provide definitions for concepts relevant to nursing practice and a framework for identifying and testing relationships that provide the scientific foundation for the practice of nursing. The most recent definition of nursing developed by the American Nurses Association in 2010 is:
The practical promotion and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities and populations (ANA, 2010).
Grand nursing theories are at the highest level of abstraction and are not directly testable. The initial theoretical work in nursing was an attempt to define nursing itself: what the nature of the relationship is between nurse, patient, and the work of nursing itself.
Middle-range theories are broad enough in scope applying to complex situations; yet narrow enough to be testable. At present, the focus on theory development is primarily at this level. Middle-range theories may be derived from grand nursing theories or theories borrowed from other disciplines (Parker, 2006).
Practice theory has the narrowest scope. It has also been described as prescriptive theory. It is situation-specific and may arise from reflective practice. Practice theory serves a broader purpose when it can be linked to either middle-range or grand theories (Parker).
All theories are made up of concepts (building blocks of theory) and statements of relationships between concepts. Therefore, theory development starts with the identification of relevant concepts.
Concept Analysis
Based upon observable phenomena in practice, nurses generalize from one set of clients to another with similar problems or conditions. Concept analysis is a formal strategy to examine phenomena for wider use within practice. Concepts can be abstract or concrete. Higher-level concepts are sometimes referred to as constructs since they are created to describe a phenomenon of interest. The concept of post-operative pain is concrete. Recently, in nursing literature, the construct moral distress has been identified. For many years, the focus was on ethical decision making and ethical conflict. However, research demonstrated that nurses had little difficulty in identifying the "right thing to do." The problem for nurses was the lack of power to do what is right for patients. For nurses, ethical distress is the major problem. This is an example of a highly abstract concept or construct. This lecture introduces several strategies for identifying and analyzing concepts with emphasis on the classic Walker and Avant methodology.
The purpose of concept development is to analyze and verify the importance of trends and evidence, which are noted in nursing situations. To begin, the incidence and repetition of these phenomena in nursing practice should be reviewed. In nursing practice, especially advanced practice settings, the phenomena are best evaluated by in-depth study and validated "discriminately, formally, and concretely" (McEwen and Wills, 2007, p. 51).
Dubin identified enumerative concepts, associative concepts, relational concepts, statistical concepts, and summative concepts (McEwin and Wills, 1978, p.53). All of these are ways of evaluating evidence-supporting theory. The concepts may also be evaluated by theoretically and operationally defined concepts, as defined by McEwen and Wills (1978, p. 55).
The steps in concept analysis and concept development provide a means of evaluating phenomena so that the concept may be rigorously researched. A concept must be analyzed, synthesized, and derived in order to develop it. Walker and Avant (2005) have clearly defined eight steps in concept analysis based on a process developed by Wilson in 1963 (McEwen and Wills, 2011). The eight steps are outlined in your text. Once the eight steps are completed, some problems may remain.
McEwen and Wills (2011) suggest other strategies to use if the concept analysis proves to be inadequate. Once a concept is analyzed to clarify the meaning, the goal remains for the researcher to verify the findings. If the concept is unclear, the evidence must be regrouped and evaluated by qualitative, quantitative, or mixed means. Another option is to use a meta-analysis for literary synthesis of information about the concept. Third, if there is little formal study of the phenomena, a concept may need to be derived from review and study of concepts in other fields, such as medicine and psychology. Once identified and studied thoroughly, the concept may be introduced into nursing for evaluation and study.
Conclusion
The discipline of nursing has multiple paradigms or worldviews each of which serves the purpose of providing a philosophical and theoretical framework for defining nursing. These have been classified by McEwen and Wills (2011) as Classic Human Needs, Interactive, and Unitary Process Theories (p. 122). Theory can also be classified by scope: grand, middle-range, and practice theory. The first step in development of a theory is the identification and definition of concepts. The concept analysis process is a useful strategy to come to consensus regarding the meaning and definition of phenomena in nursing.
References
American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing's social policy statement: The essence of the profession. Washington, DC: American Nurses Association.
McEwen, M., and Wills, E. M. (2011). Theoretical basis for nursing (3nd ed.).Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Parker, M. E. (2006). Nursing theories and Nursing practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
I really need the first question by midnight at least. Thank you
QUESTION 1
Explain, in your own words, the difference between the three paradigms: human needs, interactive, and unitary process. Which of these best fits your philosophy of nursing?
QUESTION 2
Select one of the grand or middle-range nursing theories. How does the theory demonstrate evidence of the utilization of social, behavioral, or bioscience theories?