Nursing Theorist Video Reflection

Nursing Video
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September 26, 2020
Virginia Henderson was a nurse and author known for being at the forefront of both the academic, theoretical, and practical development of nursing as a field of study and occupation. Known as the “First Lady of Nursing,” she has penned and co-authored several books such as “Principles and Practice of Nursing” and the prominent “Nursing Studies Index.” She is most popularly known for her Need Theory, also known as the Nursing Need Theory, a theory in nursing that places massive importance on the value of an individual’s holistic health concerning their environment. It would therefore not be misplaced to say that her video, where she discusses her theory in detail, was chosen due to her prominence and standing in the nursing field.
Nursing is defined by Henderson as “the function of the nurse to assist the individual in the performance of activities contributing to health, to recovery, or peaceful death, that he would perform unaided had he been able to”. (Ahtisham & Sommer, 2015). In discussing her Nursing Need Theory, Henderson states that “nurses are the gatekeepers to the healthcare system, and principal provides of primary care.” (Henderson, 2006) Despite her old age, she still vigorously advocates for the independence and capacity of nurses in the healthcare system, arguing that nursing and medicine are both on equal footing considering the contribution of each in hospital and healthcare settings. In her Nursing Need Theory, she describes the three-fold role of a nurse:
* Substitutive, where the nurse performs actions which would have been done by the patient;
* Supplementary, where the nurse performs actions for the benefit of the patient; and
* Complementary, where the nurse engages with the patient in the performan...