Nursing Students General Students
Published Sep 1, 2002
starr234
27 Posts
Okay, I just started my nursing classes and we are studying the self care deficit theory by Dorothea Orem. It seems the program is based on this theory. I know we will doing careplans using this theory. I have done the reading and I am having a hard time understanding it. Can someone give me pointers in understanding this theory?
Sleepyeyes
1,244 Posts
taken from http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~jmg8/
taken from http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~jmg8/central_concepts_of_the_theory.htm
Though we did holistic theory, I think this is pretty easy to understand. For instance: normally, I would walk to the bathroom. But a broken leg would cause a deficit in my ability to walk to the bathroom. Therefore, I would qualify as needing nursing assistance to eliminate bodily waste, or bathe, or walk.
Seems like this theory is based on the normally-functioning adult model, so that means that anyone who is not a normally-functioning adult (i.e., babies, elderly, handicapped) would require some sort of compensation for their deficits.
So I would envision the image of a functional adult, and then compare that to your patient's image.
Hope that helps
2amigos
122 Posts
Great answer!
Love-A-Nurse
3,932 Posts
sleepyeyes, thanks, i will save this for references when i need it.
Thanks! The textbook reading I had went over my head. The link you gave explained it better.