Family And Nursing : Approaches To Family Nursing

Many people have many different definitions of a family. Some include family as the people they live with, some include their entire extended family, and some include friends, neighbors, coaches, and teachers. According to the Vanier Institute (2013), a family is “a combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth, and/or adoption” (para. 2). Whichever way you look at it, families often play a major role in life. It only makes sense that when a person begins to go through a drastic change in life such as illness, the family will be involved. This is why it is important that nurses learn how to provide suitable client and family centered care. They can do this by following the four

Think back to when you were a child and you became ill. All you wanted was the protection and guidance of your mother to take care of you. If you had older siblings, maybe they were the ones that helped make you feel better. Even as we grow older, we rely on our family for support when we are not well. When a family member is ill, it is not just that one person that suffers. When an illness strikes a family member, it oftentimes includes the whole family to deal with the illness also. There are different approaches that a nurse can utilize when dealing with family nursing. Approaches include family as context, as a client, system and a component of society. In this paper, I will discuss where and how these approaches are utilized.

New norms of what is perceived as a family are emerging, according to Kaakinen, each distinct, with its own set of characteristics defining a healthy family (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015, pg. 37). Based on current demographic indicators, nursing must adapt to these evolving changes, to effectively identify real and potential risks affecting both the health and safety of the family unit.

Moxie, 2007. Maureen Leahey & Lorraine Wright. Family Nursing Resources. Retrieved February 3, 2008 from http://www.familynursingresources.com/aboutus.htmPerry, A & Potter, P. ( 2006) Canadian fundamentals of nursing. (J.Ross-Kerr &

It also shows that not every family has the same strengths and how the every family’s strengths can differ from each other’s. Which allows the nurse to use this tool to identify their strengths as a family to help them to set a family goal to achieve together and formulate a problem solving plan. It’s an easy tool because the questions are straightforward and it is a child friendly tool, suitable for any age not just the adults. It is a family assessment therefore the children’s feelings shall not be neglected. External family members can take part in this assessment as well, not only will it improve the family members’ relationship with each other and as a family but also help build a trusting relationship with the nurse which will allow the family members to voice out or share anything without feeling uncomfortable. (Smith LM

According to Stanhope and Lancaster (2008) “Each family is an unexplained mystery, unique in the ways it meets the needs of its members and society” (p. 550). Family nursing is a special field that involves the nurse and family working together to achieve progress for the family and its members in adjusting to transitions and responding to health and illness. The Friedman Family Assessment Model serves as a guide in family nursing to identify the developmental stage of the family, environmental data, family structure, composition, and functions as well as how the family manages stress and their coping mechanisms. From this data, three nursing diagnoses with interventions are developed.

The purpose of this paper is to display how such assessment is essential not on an individual basis, but rather on a larger scale in relation to family nursing. Family nursing “centers on the family as a unit of care, addressing family needs in response to a member’s illness or threat to health, rather than focusing on the individual. An understanding of families’ needs at particular developmental stages, how they communicate and function, and an ability to undertake a family assessment is foundational knowledge for family nursing” (St John, 2009, p.6). Often, nurses encounter the families of their individual patients on a daily basis, yet family assessments are not performed. This is because nurses often feel there is little time to engage families effectively, and in fact lack of time, has been identified by nurses as the primary barrier to engaging families (Kaakinen, 2015, p.109). Evidence based practice however, has proven that “a 15 minute, or even shorter, family interview can be purposeful, effective, informative, and even healing” (Wright, 2013, p.264). This 15 minute interview has been adopted in many acute care settings in involves five key components; manners, therapeutic conversation, key questions, commendation, and the genogram. These ideas represent the theoretical underpinning and are a condensed version of the Calgary Family Assessment Model (Wright, 2013). This model is large, but can be customized and adapted to the function of each individual

This paper describes a significant learning family interaction that occurred when I was working in a community placement as a student nurse. I would be reflecting on that family interaction and use the “One Question Question” approach and analyse how this would contribute to your learning needs and nursing practice.

All health care providers are familiar or have some idea of what family focused care entails. Family focused care can be practiced in any settings in healthcare, and nurses are familiar with this concept as this strong theory based teaching is emphasized throughout the nursing curriculum. With the trend of health care delivery shifting towards home based or community setting, it is now more than ever important for nurses and advance practice nurses (APN) to incorporate family nursing practice for improved outcomes for the patient and their families. This paper will discuss one of the many family nursing theory and its impact on the family nursing practice now and in the future.

Family nursing is not all about patient centered care, it is focused on the needs of the family as a whole (Nursing theory). The main goal for family nursing is to improve any health concerns by assessing the needs,problems,influences, and strentghs of the family (Journal of nursing). There are four four types of approaches to family nursing. The four types of approaches to family nursing are, family as context, family as client, family as system, and family as component of society (the book). The purpose of this paper is to define, discuss, and give examples of the four types of approaches to family nursing.

Several nursing theory models are available to assist the nurse in assessing and evaluating a family, creating a care plan for a family, and determining which interventions are most applicable to the family’s needs, strengths, and weaknesses. The Neuman’s Systems Model, created in 1983 by nursing theorist/educator Betty Neuman, is a theory that encompasses the family as a whole rather than focusing on the individual patient, and offers ways in which the family can react to outside stressors and return to a whole state after the stressor is gone. Newman believes that each person is a layered, multi-dimensional being and identifies methods of coping with outside stressors that include three types of interventions that help the patient and family cope with these stressors.

work with individual families and with families as an aggregate within the population (Clark, 2003). Several areas will be presented such as biophysical, psychological, physical environmental, sociocultural, behavioral and health system considerations. The data obtained during family health assessment enable the nurse to make informed decisions about the health care needs of families (Clark).

How does a family work as a system in promoting the health of its members?

We all came from a type of family, Regardless to our origin or ethnical background, family is a universal and important aspect in our lives. From birth to adult hood, our family teaches us the fundament principles of life, what makes us be the person we are today. According to the better health channel (august 2014) stated that a happy and healthy family have certain traits in common. In this discussion, I will be elaborating on a family that demonstrated one of the healthy trait while caring for their lovely mother as well discussing my role as a nurse in this situation.

The role and definition of family can vary from one culture to another. Generally speaking, the culture in the United States places a lot of emphasis on individuality and personal freedom. In many cultures, the family unit has a very strict and defined hierarchy. Often the Father is seen as the head of the household and is responsible for much of the decision making. This can include decisions concerning the health care of a family member. It could also result in reluctance for the head of the family to place himself in a position of relying on others for care, a perceived position of weakness. In many cultures, the family goes beyond the nuclear family, and extends to the community, friends and neighbors. These are strongly held beliefs, and we must refrain from judging them as right or wrong based on our own culture. Rather, weneed to find ways to work within the framework of the family structure of the patient. ( Falvo, pp.186-187)