Person and Environment Essay

Submitted By jasonbryan23
Words: 1266
Pages: 6

Person and Environment

Jason Bryan
October 12, 2014

Final Paper
A Paper Presented to Meet Partial Requirements
For NRSG-515
Theoretical Concepts
Southern Adventist University School of Nursing

Definition of Person: In my mind a person is a living, breathing being who is the result of different experiences in life, in love, in their previous employment, education, spiritual awareness, and interactions with other people. Not every person is the same. The personal traits that separate each individual as their unique self are dependent on the type of culture they were raised in, the ethics that were instilled into them by their family and peers, and the outcome of their life events.
Comparison of Person definition: In the reading, Cody proposes that “the focus of nursing ought to be the understanding of patients as participants in their care rather that as objects of care” (Cody, 2014 p.258). As nurses, it can be challenging sometimes, due to time constraints and increased demands of patient flow, which allow us to develop an interpersonal relationship with our patients which hinders the ability to really get to “know” them. Every patient is unique and requires a different approach in order to properly meet their demands of care. It is easy to sometimes just view someone as another body to be taken care of, but in order to truly provide holistic care to meet their needs, we must see past the objective person and focus in on the subjective person. It is important to remember to view our patients as participants in their care instead of being objects of care. Every patient is unique in their own way. It is this uniqueness that sets them apart from the rest of society. As nurses we must take into account the individuality of our patients, because each person responds to personal conditions in the moment. According to Boykin & Schoenhofer 2001 “by allowing the patient to unfold as a person and live fully as a human being, the nurse facilitates the goal of nursing in the “caring between” and enhances personhood of both the nursed and the nurse” (Cody, 2014 p.264). When this is accomplished the goals of both the nurse and the patient are achieved.
Interpersonal Theory related to definition of Person: The Interpersonal Theory that I believe supports my definition of person is Rosmarie Rizzo Parse’s Humanbecoming Theory. Her theory is based on three assumptions: 1. Humanbecoming is freely choosing personal meaning with situation, intersubjectively living value priorities; 2: Humanbecoming is configuring rhythmical patterns of relating with humanuniverse; and 3: Humanbecoming is co-transcendence illimitably with emerging possibilities (Butts & Rich, 2014 p.277). Her theory recognizes that life is an evolving process in which individuals become who they are through life relationships with others and universal experience that have had an impact on the evolution of their being. Like Parse, I believe that every person is unique and based on their own perspective of life and how one should live their life is an independent process tailored to that individual. I know that because of my past experiences and the beliefs that were instilled in me by my parents that these events have shaped me into the man I am today.
Personal definition of Environment: It is my belief that environment refers to not only the physical environment, but also the emotional and spiritual as well. The physical environment could include a type of room, the temperature, the way the room smells, if it is clean, how large or small the area may be, the noise level, the décor, and even the equipment which is available. The emotional environment includes the attitudes of the people that you may come into contact with, whether or not the environment is busy or calm, music, art work, the interaction with the staff, and their knowledge level as it appears to the