Application Of Orem'S Theory

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Application of Orem's Nursing Theory to the Orthopedic Patient Population The patient population that I currently work with is orthopedic patients. I have given care to orthopedic patients both in an acute care hospital setting and a rehabilitation hospital setting. Orthopedics defined is “a branch of healthcare that is concerned with the prevention and correction of disorders of the musculoskeletal system of the body.”(Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary, 2002, p. 1236). A nurse’s primary concern is to promote and maintain a patient’s locomotion involving joints, muscles, skeletons, and surrounding tissues. Post-operatively, whether post-operative day 1 or day 10, orthopedic patients are very dependent on nurses and other healthcare professionals to meet and provide their daily needs. This patient population has many self-care deficits of varying degrees. To meet the demands of the orthopedic patients, Dorothea E. Orem’s theory is a good guide for my and other nurses’ professional practice. Self-care competence has an impact in the quality and quantity of life. Nurses educate and assist patients to achieve their competency in caring for themselves. Orem’s theory emphasizes the patient’s self-care needs. These needs are biological, psychological, developmental, and/or social. Thus, the goal of nursing through Orem’s theory is to increase the patient’s ability to independently meet these needs. The common problems that I deal with are musculoskeletal injuries from accidents resulting in fractures, and various forms of arthritis resulting in joint replacement surgeries. These conditions are traumatic and painful resulting in functional disabilities. Surgery plays an important role in the treatment and rehabilitation of these patients.
According to Orem’s theory, “Assessment is made of therapeutic self-care demand, the self-care agency, and

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