Betty Neumann

Human needs

Betty Neumann has used her health care system model to focus on the human needs. The systems model focuses on the identification and reduction of stressors through nursing interventions. This system model also focuses on some of the factors that cause diseases. According to the model, the clients are perceived to be biopsychosocial beings who are the total of their parts and in need of nursing care. The clients are also perceived as mechanistic beings and if accurate information is gathered then the source or cause of their problems can be recognized and measured. This means that interventions can be prescribed thus bringing in effectiveness when it comes to meeting of the clients needs for nursing care. The model also asserts that reconstitution is the status of adaptation to stressors. It also discusses the three types of stressors (interpersonal, intrapersonal, extra personal). Nursing actions like the primary tertiary and secondary levels of prevention focuses on the various variables which affect the clients’ response to the stressors.

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Interactive process

The Neumann’s system model has theories which touch on the interactive process in nursing. The interactive process is either between the client and the nurse or between the health care system and the client. The Newman’s system model views human being as the interacting wholes while their problems are seen as multifactoral. Neumann also observes that the intervention results may be unpredictable because many elements based on the client’s environment and background influence the outcomes of the interventions. She also observes that there are many interactions (internal, external) between the client and their respective environments some of which end up without being measured. The model has three interacting systems which are namely; personal, social and interpersonal. She also observes that the client’s goals are mainly met through transactions which mainly occur between the client and the nurse.

Unitary process

According to the Neumann’s system model humans are perceived to be integral with the universe. It also observes that the environment and the unitary human being are one and not divisive. The model also has the view that the irreducible nature of the individuals is dissimilar from the sum of the parts. It also holds the view that nursing focuses on the people and the manifestations which emerge from the mutual environmental or human field process. The model continues to state that waves propagate the change of pattern, organization and pattern of the environmental and human fields. She also observes that people have the ability to participate both probabilistically knowing to the change process.

Basic nursing education

In 1947 Betty Neumann obtained a registered nurse diploma in Akron. In the year 1057, she enrolled in the University of California at the Los Angeles where she took a double major in public health and psychology of which she was awarded a BSc Nursing. In the year 1966, Betty concluded her Masters degree in Medical Health (Public Health Consultation) from the UCLA. After this achievement she was highly recognized as the pioneer in the field of nursing involvement with the community mental health. In the year 1985 she completed a course in the pacific western university where she was awarded with a doctorate in clinical psychology. In the year 1993 she was named the honorary member of the fellowship of the American academy of nursing due to the important contributions she had made in the field of nursing (Nurses.info, 2010)

Work experience

After her first diploma in nursing, Betty went to California where she worked in a hospital as a staff nurse of which she was later promoted into a head nurse. She also explored to the other fields where she worked as an industrial nurse, school nurse and a clinical instructor. In the year 1970, she started to develop the systems model as a way of teaching introductory nursing course to the nursing students. In the year 1988 she founded the Neumann Systems Model Trustee Group, Inc. whose aim was to promote guidance practice and research in the nursing education. Since the past years, Betty has continuously developed the Neumann’s Systems Model through her career as an educator, health consultant, author and speaker (Blogspot.com, 2008).

Philosophical underpinnings

There are various philosophical underpinnings of the Neumann’s System Model. For example according to Munro and Moore (2010), the Neumann’s System Model can be applied to the mental health nursing of the adults so that it can help them in dealing with the various losses and stressors which have made either a successful or unsuccessful adjustment to those life experiences. Another philosophical underpinning is that the models structure was consistent with the research and practice of the nursing needs of the nursing students. Again, it offers a broad approach to the assessment of spiritual, developmental, psychological, and physiological and the social cultural interacting variables which are vital for the holistic care. This is because the assessment of these variables is important in evaluating the risk of populations so as to determine the appropriate levels of intervention. Another philosophical underpinning includes the Neumann’s use of concepts and theories from various disciplines in the development of her theory. For instance she referred to the Chardin and Cornu in the wholeness of systems, Selye on the stress theory and many more.

Major assumptions, concepts, and relationship

Neumann’s model assumes that human being is a client system composed of spiritual, developmental, psychological, physiological and the social cultural interacting variables of which each is a sub part of all parts which form the whole of the client. It also assumes that the environment is composed of internal and external forces which surround the client therefore influencing and also being influenced by the client at one point in time. The major concept of this model is to maintain the stability system through the accurate assessment of the environmental stressors and also by assisting the clients in making the necessary adjustments so as to maintain optimal wellness. According to Neumann, the above five interacting variables works in time to maintain attain and retain the systems stability. The model is working on how to counteract the clients stress by protecting the client’s stability. The nurse connects the relation ship between the nursing, environment, health and client through the three steps of nursing whereby she collects samples, negotiates with the client and then makes the interventions or preventions to be undertaken (Meleis, 2006).

Usefulness

I think the Neuman’s model is useful because it is highly applicable in nursing education and practice. This is because it has helped to guide the practice of nursing with the aim of managing the patient care in the areas of pediatric nursing, medicine and surgery community as a client and many more.

Testability

Some parts of the Neumann’s model have been used to direct the nursing research. For instance the Neumann’s flexible line of defense was tested using the women’s multiple role stress. This was done by the evaluation of the Neumann’s five interactive variables of which the psychological and social-cultural variables were found to interact therefore explaining the multiple role stress in women only in the presence of the developmental variable (Gigliotti Eileen, 1999).

Parsimony

I think the model is unique because it presents a unified focus for attending to the wide variety of international health concern. This model will help many in solving future emerging health care issues and trends

Value of extending the nursing science

I think there is value in extending the nursing science because it will bring the essence of science in the unitary human beings. Again, nursing g science will develop theories which will enhance self-efficacy and empowerment on the side of the nurses. I think it is good to extend the nursing science since it will improve the quality of health care provided by nurses due to the fact that they will acquire advanced knowledge in this field.