Nurse-Patient Relationship

The aim of this assignment is to demonstrate how Peplau's concept of the nurse-patient relationship can be used to influence an incident in practise. I have chosen to focus on the nurse-patient relationship, as I am in the early stages of my adult nurse training and I feel it would be beneficial to understand this relationship more accurately. The first part of this assignment defines a concept and briefly outlines the nurse-patient relationship as a concept. The second part focusses and outlines Peplau's theories. The final part relates Peplau's theories to an incident in practise. It is important to recognise that one theory may not substantially apply to an individual situation or nurse-patient relationship. Therefore I will briefly discuss other nurse theorists and how their work related to my patient. The incident I will mention involves a patient I assisted caring for during my surgical placement. I will refer to her as Sarah for confidentiality purposes. This is in line with section five of the NMC Code of Conduct:- You must respect peoples right to confidentiality. (NMC, 2008). A concept could be described as vehicles for thought, that involve images. They can be words that describe objects or events and are components for theory. ( Currentnursing.com/nursing_theory 2011). Nursing itself could be described as a collection of concepts. These concepts are what nurses believe to be important aspects of nursing. All nurses should be aware of these concepts to allow the development of theories. (Pearson, Vaughan and Fitzgerald, 2005). An example of a concept in nursing could be promoting a clients dignity. This is such a vital attribute to nursing practise and models have been developed for nursing practitioners to follow to achieve this concept. (Nursingtimes.net, May 2010).
Peplau's interpersonal relationship model evolved around the concept of psycho-dynamic nursing. This concept involves looking at your own behaviour in order to assist another to