A nursing conceptual model comprises of ideas which provide a coherent, unified, and orderly way of seeing related nursing events and processes in practice. The models allow nurse researchers to develop and design studies on a specific nursing issue. But a nursing theory is a well-thought-out and systematic structuring of ideas that seeks to inquire or give recommendation on a particular nursing phenomenon (De Brito et al.,2017). Nursing theories are used to direct and guide the structure of professional nursing practice, education, and research.
The nursing need theory by Virginia Henderson identifies that nurses should provide care to hasten a patient’s recovery and independence. The approach identifies fourteen components that make up the nursing process and addresses four significant concepts, namely the individual, environment, health, and nursing (Indra, 2018). According to Henderson, an individual has the basic needs that are health components, and they require nursing help to achieve better health or a peaceful death. The environment refers to the external conditions that influence and affect life and development. Primary nursing care should provide a conducive environment for the patient. Health is based on an individual’s ability to function independently. Therefore, nurses should focus on health prevention and promotion and cure to meet patient needs. Lastly, the concept of nursing involves temporary assistance from the nurses to make the patient feel better or independent.
The theory applies to daily nursing practices. For example, when providing care for a child patient with high fever, the nurse should decrease the temperature to normal to enable the patient to achieve good health. Thereby, the nurse will remove the patient’s clothing, and open the windows or turn on the air conditioner to allow the patient to take in colder, which can decrease the fever.