Fundamentals of Nursing

Total care context

• the nurse considers all the principles and areas that apply when taking care of any client of that age and condition.

  • For example, a nurse who is giving advice to the mother of a preschooler understands that the child's desire to explore his or her world is a developmental stage that all preschoolers experience

Individualized care context

• the nurse becomes acquainted with the client as an individual, using the total care principles that apply to this person at this time.

  • For example, the nurse is taking care of a preschooler diagnosed with ADHD understands that the child may have an increased risk of accidents and injuries when interacting with the environment, due to his or her impulsivity and poor self-control.

Concept of Holism

Nurses are concerned with the individual as a whole, complete, or holistic person, not as an assembly of parts and processes.

• When applied in nursing, the concept of holism emphasizes that nurses must consider the whole person and strive to understand how one area of concern relates to the whole person.

Concept of Homeostasis

Walter Bradford Cannon (1939) first introduced the concept of homeostasis to describe the relative constancy of the body's internal processes, such as blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, blood pressure, body temperature, blood glucose, and fluid and electrolyte balance.

• To Cannon, the word homeostasis did not imply something stagnant, set, or immobile. Instead, it meant a condition that might vary but remained relatively constant.

Homeostasis

• is the body's tendency to maintain a state of balance or equilibrium while continually changing.

Physiological Homeostasis

Type of homeostasis that means that the internal environment of the body is relatively stable and constant. All cells of the body require a relatively constant environment to function; thus, the body's internal environment must be maintained within narrow limits.

Psychological Homeostasis

Type of homeostasis that refers to emotional or psychological balance or a state of mental well-being. It is maintained by a variety of mechanisms.

• Each person has certain psychological needs, such as the need for love, security, and self-esteem, which must be met to maintain psychological homeostasis. When one or more of these needs is not met or is threatened, certain coping mechanisms are activated to protect the person and provide psychological homeostasis.