Models of Nursing

The focus of this assignment is to outline the assessment process within nursing and show its practical use and importance. The assignment is broken down into different elements, including defining what assessment means and its importance within the nursing process leading on to the various sources of information which are used to inform nurses upon their assessments. The STAMP assessment tool will be explored to show how it supports the assessment process in practice. Finally, suggestions will be made as to how nurses develop a positive relationship with patients to assist the assessment process. The ideas developed throughout the assignment will be backed up using the wealth of literature available.

The nursing process was introduced in the United Kingdom by Yura and Walsh in 1967 (White, 2005, p128). This was an attempt to direct traditional nursing away from intuitional and ritual practice. The purpose of developing this process was to develop a method for applying a scientific problem-solving approach to nursing practice (Haberman, 2005). Alfaro-LeFevre, (2006, p4) summarises this process into a systematic six staged sequence. He defines them as follows: -
Assess, diagnose, identify, plan, implement and evaluate. Every phase within this process outlined above have an individual role yet they are all interdependent with one another (Royal College of Nursing (RCN), 2009, section three). Barrett, Wilson and Woodlands, (2009) expand this process further, adding that this is a cyclical, on-going process which continues throughout the nursing process.

Benner (1984, pp42-43) expands on the nursing process stating that many different models of nursing have been established to augment this procedural, elemental staged approach giving structure to the care delivery whilst meeting a patients individual needs. The various different models represent a varied range of values and beliefs that guide the nurse through the problem-solving process. Roper Logan and