Adaptation Model of Sister Callista Roy
Adaptation Model of Sister Callista Roy
“When push comes to a shove, we will seldom disappoint ourselves. We all harbour greater stores of strength than we think. Adversity brings the opportunity to test our mettle and discover for ourselves the stuff of which we are made.”
Do not underestimate the power of a person to cope. He may be dependent now but deep within him lies the energy to adapt.
I remember a particular patient when I was still a trainee nurse. He was a pastor afflicted with a serious liver problem. Specialists come and go at his ICU bed but they cannot seem to diagnose the problem. Time is running out and the pastor is slipping fast. He’s bleeding and God knows how many units of blood have been transfused to him. He went into coma. Doctors were giving up, and so were we. We’ve primed the family but they just won’t give up…yet. The wife is always there at his side during visiting hours, always cheerful and full of hope. So is the daughter who even lets her dad listen to praise songs as if he is not comatose. Many days passed and to our amazement, the pastor woke up from coma. It’s been uphill from there. Everything just fell into the right place. He was transferred to a regular room and eventually discharged with a clean bill of health.
Amazing? What could it be? A miracle? Or could it be the medications working, or the transfusion? Or the family’s fervent prayers? We couldn’t tell but one thing is certain: human beings are made to persist. And that is what Sister Callista Roy believed, too.
So how did the pastor recover? At the physiologic level, it was good that he was brought to the ICU immediately since the basic physiologic needs are met at once. He was intubated (for oxygenation), an NGT was put in place (for nutrition), a foley catheter was inserted (for elimination), and enema was also done to facilitate elimination of wastes.
Visitors were restricted early on to provide optimum rest and to minimize cross contamination. Isolation
“When push comes to a shove, we will seldom disappoint ourselves. We all harbour greater stores of strength than we think. Adversity brings the opportunity to test our mettle and discover for ourselves the stuff of which we are made.”
Do not underestimate the power of a person to cope. He may be dependent now but deep within him lies the energy to adapt.
I remember a particular patient when I was still a trainee nurse. He was a pastor afflicted with a serious liver problem. Specialists come and go at his ICU bed but they cannot seem to diagnose the problem. Time is running out and the pastor is slipping fast. He’s bleeding and God knows how many units of blood have been transfused to him. He went into coma. Doctors were giving up, and so were we. We’ve primed the family but they just won’t give up…yet. The wife is always there at his side during visiting hours, always cheerful and full of hope. So is the daughter who even lets her dad listen to praise songs as if he is not comatose. Many days passed and to our amazement, the pastor woke up from coma. It’s been uphill from there. Everything just fell into the right place. He was transferred to a regular room and eventually discharged with a clean bill of health.
Amazing? What could it be? A miracle? Or could it be the medications working, or the transfusion? Or the family’s fervent prayers? We couldn’t tell but one thing is certain: human beings are made to persist. And that is what Sister Callista Roy believed, too.
So how did the pastor recover? At the physiologic level, it was good that he was brought to the ICU immediately since the basic physiologic needs are met at once. He was intubated (for oxygenation), an NGT was put in place (for nutrition), a foley catheter was inserted (for elimination), and enema was also done to facilitate elimination of wastes.
Visitors were restricted early on to provide optimum rest and to minimize cross contamination. Isolation