General Systems Theory
Nurses are healthcare professionals who are faced by complex human problems during their practice. Application of General Systems Theory in the context of human body solves some of the issues that arise in healthcare organizations. General Systems Theory provides a framework to facilitate sustainable changes in healthcare organizations and to explain modern treatment practices in oncology.
General Systems Theory was developed to encourage nurses to view the healthcare system in wholeness. Conceptualizing the healthcare sector as a system allows all the healthcare professionals to understand how healthcare configuration interacts with other elements of the environment (Charissa, 2013). The General Systems Theory classifies systems as either closed or open systems. Human beings require oxygen from the environment; therefore, human beings are open systems. The theory explains some treatment practices. Human beings being are open systems depends on the environment. Hence, equilibrium needs to be established. In the treatment of cancer, when a large number of cancer cells are killed through chemotherapy, many cells enter the blood to maintain the equilibrium. Therefore, General Systems Theory explains why chemotherapy is administered in small doses.
General Systems Theory influences nurses to make smart interventions. The theory assumes that most of the professionals struggle to do a good job. The General Systems Theory embraces for efficient systems (Maureen, 2002). Health care systems comprise of complex systems, which when they are made efficient, the healthcare professionals can easily detect errors that usually arise during treatment. The General Systems Theory requires nurses to understand the common patterns of the environment. Thus, nurses focus on the overall outcome rather than individual performance.
In conclusion, the article, Systems Theories, explains how General Systems Theory is applied in healthcare. The article classifies human beings as open systems, which enhances understanding of how chemotherapy is administered in small doses. The article, King’s Conceptual System, discusses the surrounding influences nursing goal-setting.