Nursing is an art and a science. The nurse uses a
scientific process to determine a client’s immediate and long range
needs, in order to help the client achieve a higher level of
psychological and physiological wellness. This process is also termed the nursing process. It consists of the following elements, Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. It
is within the application of the nursing process that the nurse
incorporates attending to and ensuring that the client’s hierarchy of
human needs are met.
These needs, according to Abraham Maslow (1954) consist of the following: 1) Physiological: hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, etc. 2) Safety/security: out of danger 3) Belonging and Love: affiliate with others, be accepted 4) Esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition. The
theme that encompasses Maslow’s entire theory is based on the premise
that people are thinking, feeling, emotional beings in need of not only
the basics for survival but also the need for love and belonging. Caring, is then essential for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to be satisfied. This statement indicates that caring has more importance than the other needs for survival as mentioned above. If
one were to make the argument, that, caring is the central theme for
survival of the human species, then, based on Maslow’s theory, it could
be also extrapolated that caring was universal to survival. It
also could be argued, that the basic necessities such as food, shelter,
and safety are independent of caring. Since these concepts of needs are
part of Maslow’s theory, then the action of caring would not be central
to the overall theme, thus disproving caring as the central theme to
human survival. In proof of this hypothesis, it could be
argued that in the penal system, prisoners are provided with only the
basic of necessities and nothing else. For this hypothesis to be
correct, the survival rate of inmates would have to be approximately
the same as those of their non- incarcerated counterparts that live
free in society. If in fact the survival rates are the
same, then the theory of caring would be disproved as a necessity to
the survival of the human species and thus only the basic necessities
were in fact the only factors needed. On the
other hand, if the survival rate for those who are incarcerated is less
than those who are free in society, bearing that other variables such
as genetics, living environment, and family dynamics are taken into
consideration, then the concept of caring would have some validity
relating to Maslow’s theory. It can be seen in nature,
within certain mammalian species such as the chimpanzee, that if only
the basic needs for survival are provided to an infant chimp without
the benefit of a mother chimp, the infant chimps' chances of survival
decrease dramatically. The infant chimp, will in most
cases, fail to thrive without the mother chimp, or develop an
aggressive and violent nature if it then it is not only a part of human
nature but that of the animal kingdom as well. Caring can be observed. More articles and resources are available atwww.thenetstudyguide.com
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