Modeling and role-modeling theory in nursing means that a nurse should be able to notice a patient’s needs and attend to them in a personal way according to the needs. In this context, the nurse should acknowledge the fact that each patient is unique in terms of their personality and the requirements they desire.

Modeling and Role Modeling Theory

Today’s patient is a well-informed individual and it is pertinent that nurses learn to attend to their patients while taking into account their perspective. Similarly, nurses should not dismiss any of the patient’s concerns. A nurse who has learned about modeling theory will be in a position to handle the patient better by identifying the commonalities and the differences among different people. For instance, the holism theory enables the nurse to know that a person is made up of many faculties including the emotional part, the body, mind, and spirit, which are all interconnected (Erickson, 2017). This means that if one of these faculties is dysfunctional, the others shall be affected as well. It is, therefore, important that a nurse learns to observe a person from all angles in order to be able to help in a wholesome manner. A good nurse should be in a position to tell when a patient has some emotional problems and advise them where they can or direct them to an appropriate professional for further assistance. This is particularly essential in this age where there are many cases of people falling into depression.

Importance of Modeling Theory

As highlighted earlier, this theory is usually supportive to nurses because it ensures that they approach their practice in a more sophisticated manner as opposed to operating in a narrow manner. Moreover, the theory helps the practitioner to go beyond the basic principle of being wholesome in their practice by acknowledging the conditions in which they operate in as well as other factors that affect patients such as cultural and religious beliefs and their perceptions on relationships. This theory helps the nurses to understand their patients and to also create a healthy relationship with the latter (Jarvill et al., 2018). It also ensures that trust is established between the two which is a major catalyst to better results at the workplace.

I imagine a situation where a nurse is approached by a rape victim who wants to get help from them. From a layman’s perspective, one could assume that the patient is looking for medication maybe to prevent contracting HIV or to avoid pregnancy. However, a nurse who has the proper comprehension of modeling theory shall understand that going through a rape ordeal brings much more than physical suffering and that the victim should be offered psychological, emotional, and spiritual support in addition to physical treatment.

Conclusion

In brief, nurses should understand that nursing is a noble calling and that patients are looking for wholesome healing whenever they visit the health facilities. This means that they should always take their time to think about the key lessons that are derived from this theory in order to respond to the patients’ needs professionally.

References

Jarvill, M., Kelly, S., & Krebs, H. (2018). Effect of expert role modeling on skill performance in simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 24, 25-29.

Erickson, M. E. (2017). Modeling and role-modeling. Nursing Theorists and Their Work-E-Book, 398.