Could Imogene King’s theory of goal attainment be applied to your current practice setting?
A common fact is that a health practitioner’s decision-making will impact the patient’s condition/situation in ways more than one. Imogene King recognised the necessity of putting daily decisions in perspective and in accordance with practice and actions of health practitioners especially the nurses for the purpose of encouraging more positive health outcomes. (1987) developed the theory of goal attainment that has the client goals at the heart of client-nurse relationship during the mid-1960s. Nursing, whom (1981) defined as a helping profession that assists individuals and groups in society to attain, maintain and restore health, is the central tenet of health promotion. As such, the theory of goal attainment provides a way by which the nurse’s action and the client progresses could be effectively tracked ( 1996). In this report, the strengths and limitations of King’s theory will be assessed as well as its value and relevance. Insights and perceptions will be built upon the theory’s application in clinic setting.
King’s Theory of Goal Attainment
As already mentioned, King’s theory of goal attainment puts emphasis on the goals that govern the nurse-patient relationship. King’s basic assumption is that nurses as human beings interact with patients as human beings and both are open systems that also interact with the environment (2005) puts it, the theory is a systems model which derived its conceptual framework from three dynamic interacting systems: persona, interpersonal and social. Individual system embraces the concept of perception, self, growth and development, time and space. Perception is considered to be the most important within the personal system because of its influence on behaviour . Individuals or groups) reacting to one another made up the interpersonal systems, and comes in three: as a dyad, a triad or a larger group. (1995) relate that concepts associated with such system include interaction, transaction, communication, role and stress. Social systems, finally, comprise of groups of people in a community or society that share common goals, interests and values ( 2001) and are linked with the concepts of organisation, authority, power, status and decision-making.
The Clinic Setting
Simply, within the clinic setting, the personal systems (nurse and patient) interact with each other in an interpersonal system (small and large groups) and the environment that is the social systems (institutional organisations). The clinic that I am working is situated as part of a public hospital in Hong Kong providing subsidized healthcare services. In general, it is an out-patient clinic, offering general diagnoses and treatments minus the need to stay overnight. Within this setting, several interactions and transaction occur within the day aside from the nurse and patients, including nurses and medical assistants, nurses and the family of the patient, nurses and doctors and nurses and other nurses.
Theory of Goal Attainment’s Application in Clinic Setting
According to (1996), the value of the theory is its applicability in any nursing situation. Basically, the goal of nursing is the “attainment, maintenance or restoration of health to allow clients to achieve maximum potential for daily living” (as cited in 1995). Naturally, the same goal goes with the clinical practitioners including the nurses. Interactions are fundamental in the clinical context; individuals are purposeful and goal-directed particularly for the nurses who have direct interface with the patients. Nonetheless, the individuals who are involved in interaction bring various perceptions to the exchange. Plausibly, there must be a basic understanding that perception occurs differently in the nurse and in the client. This is because the distorted perceptions of a role may negatively impact upon achievement of goal set.
Nurses, as I always believed, hold a specific power of influence among the patients. Such condition basically manifests the varying perception of nurses and clients. As I have witnessed, nurses offers much of the stimulation that the patient will need. Four among the roles of the nurses that requires constant interaction with the patients are assessment, intervention, documentation and education, all of which are desired goals each day.
0 comments:
Post a Comment