The Relationship Between Human Beings, Environment, Health, and Nursing

The Relationship Between Human Beings, Environment, Health, and Nursing

The Relationship Between Human Beings, Environment, Health, and Nursing

Nursing involves the practice of values, such as human dignity, integrity, autonomy, altruism, and social justice. Caring is the overall role of nurses to human beings in clinical practice and setting. Nursing philosophy emphasizes on the application of these values accordingly when providing care for human beings. The theory and practice of nursing encompass aims to promote health, prevent illness, restore health, and assist human beings in coping with disability and death. The nursing paradigm integrates the concepts of understanding the nature of human beings, their relationship with the environment, health status, and the nursing practices associated with the wellness of individuals.

First, human beings are considered complete when the human body is reinforced with the wellness of the emotional, spiritual, and mental aspects. In particular, the human body is composed of living cells and extracellular materials with different categories and functions. Anatomy and physiology of the human body include the human blood, cardiovascular system, digestive organs, endocrine structure, renal system, the skin, human muscles, the nervous system, respiration, and reproductive system. According to Andreas Vesalius, the Father of Anatomy, the human body consists of three sections; the surface body, regional body, and systemic physiology, which all relate for a human being to live (Nutton, 2017). An emotional aspect relates to relationships and feelings, which make human beings whole. When the relationships and feelings are balanced, human beings act from the heart and create harmony with the physical body. The mental body involves thoughts, attitudes, and judgments, which determine the worth and value that human beings attach to the world. Lastly, the spiritual body connects perceptions of the earth, the physical human body, God, and the divine world, which surround the body. Union of life experiences and the soul make human beings complete.

Secondly, the environment that surrounds human beings affects how they live and their well-being. Human beings can develop self-awareness and the potential to understand other people, life, and nature. The ability to have and maintain interaction with other human beings, life, and physical nature defines human awareness. The surrounding that human beings live in is categorized into internal and external environments. The internal environment involves the coordination of mental and emotional needs, which are a basis of understanding the world. Human beings create an internal environment through fulfilling needs of purpose, meaning, intimacy, self-worth, and wisdom. The external environment involves satisfaction through having food, clothing, shelter, education, and having good health. According to Ulric Gustav Neisser, internal factors, such as beliefs and feelings, relate to external factors, which both revolve around human interaction with the environment (Wąsik, 2017). Such factors affect human behavior and define the responses that people develop, such as creating a safe environment for themselves.

Furthermore, health refers to the comprehensive well-being of an individual, which is a resource for living a complete life. The well-being of a human being is contributed by the environment, relationships, and education. Also, health is the optimum condition that enables a person to cope with the daily demands of living. Having good health implies a state of balance within the physical and social environment, that an individual maintains. Poor health is a state where human beings cannot adequately meet the demands of living due to physical, emotional, or social distress. According to Dr. Andrija Štampar, one of the founders of the World Health Organization (WHO), health refers to physical, mental, and social well-being with the absence of disease or infirmity (Masic, 2019). Good health refers to wellness, where the body can recover from illness, whereas poor health implies the presence of disease and unstable physical or mental states.

Moreover, nursing is centered on the care provided to human beings of all ages, families who are sick, or well in society. Skills used in caring individuals include cognitive, interpersonal, technical, and ethical abilities, which all contribute to widespread concern for the people. As a human science, nursing is determined to promote health and life in people’s experiences. All the activities involved in nursing aim at improving health, preventing illness, caring for the sick, disabled, and dying people. Virginia Henderson defines nursing as the unique function of a nurse to assist an individual, whether sick or well, through activities that promote health or its recovery and where the caregiver can perform them unaided if they have the necessary strength, will or knowledge (Henderson, 1964). This definition focuses on the efforts made by the caregiver to enable the independence of the patient towards health or recovery from an illness. Also, the relationship between a nurse and the patient is emphasized as a recovery tool for sick individuals.

The four nursing paradigms, human beings, the environment, health, and nursing, are inter-related to the well being of people in society. In providing care, nurses relate the description of the paradigms to decide on the best approach to ensure the independence of people towards health or recovery from an illness. First, nursing involves the understanding of a person as a unique human being by recognizing cultural values, emotional, and physical states without judgment. Also, assessment of dimensions of physical, emotional, and mental health is done to establish the reason for nursing. Depending on the health status, the best environment for providing care is chosen. These health concerns determined by the caregiver govern the approach to be used to ensure attention is adequately provided. The nursing paradigm is achieved when care is provided according to the concerns of the well-being of an individual.

In conclusion, nursing involves the provision of care to people, either to promote health or recovery from an illness. Through the four paradigms, the relevant and the best care is established and provided to individuals. Human beings are described by their physical anatomy, mental, emotional, and social dimensions, which are unique from one person to another. A relationship with the environment determines the wellness and life of human beings. Besides, the health of a person is assessed according to emotional, physical, or spiritual wellness. Finally, the care provided is determined through understanding the four paradigms to ensure that relevant and quality nursing approaches are used to promote wellness.

References

Henderson, V. (1964). The nature of nursing. The American journal of nursing, 62-68. Wąsik, E. M. (2017). Uncovering the multidimensional identity of the human self. Scripta           Neophilologica Posnaniensia, (17), 383-404.

Masic, I. (2019). The Most Influential Scientists in the Development of Public Health (4):             Andrija Stampar (1888-1958). Material Socio-Medica, 31(4), 298.

Nutton, V. (Ed.). (2017). Principles of Anatomy according to the Opinion of Galen by Johann       Guinter and Andreas Vesalius. Taylor & Francis.