Kelly S. Matthews, Lori Miles
NUR 403
June 1, 2015
Jacqueline de Paulis
Nursing Philosophy, Model, and Theory Discussion
Nursing is compromised of many theories and theorists. This class has helped us take a closer look at how nursing started and how it has evolved over the years. Nursing is constantly changing and evolving. Nursing has become more advanced with the help of many important nursing theorists. We chose to take a closer look at Madeleine Leininger and Roy’s Nursing Theory’s and how we use them in our everyday nursing practice.
Madeleine Leininger is known for her Transcultural Theory of Nursing also known as the Cultural Care Theory. The cultural care theory aims to provide culturally congruent nursing care through "cognitively based assistive, supportive, facilitative, or enabling acts or decisions that are mostly tailor-made to fit with individual's, group's, or institution's cultural values, beliefs, and lifeways" (Leininger, M. M. (1995). We live in a culturally diverse world and everyone deserves to be cared for with respect and dignity in respect to their cultural preference or practices. Her theory intends for to have beneficial meaning and health outcomes for people of different or similar cultural backgrounds. As I read more and learned about her transcultural theory, I realized how important this is in my everyday practice. I work in a busy Primary Care clinic and I treat people from many different cultures. I realized how important it was for me to take the time to learn more about their cultural preferences in regard to their healthcare. I have many patients that have been diagnosed with many conditions and just don’t seem to care to make necessary changes to live a healthier life. Before I started making the assumptions that they are non-compliant, I had to take a closer look into their culture to see if there was anything hindering their treatment.