DNP Nurses & Complex Adaptive Systems: Patient Care Application

This essay explores the application of complex adaptive systems (CAS) by Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)-prepared nurses in individual patient care. It elucidates how CAS, with its characteristics of self-organization, non-linearity, and unpredictability, offers an alternative paradigm in healthcare. The essay highlights that nursing, like the health system, is a complex adaptive system, referencing the Meikirch model, which emphasizes the interactions between life demands, biological potential, acquired potential, social determinants, and environmental standards. DNP nurses can leverage CAS by focusing on complexities and relationships, such as comprehensively assessing a patient's health by considering various life aspects and their impact. The essay concludes that DNP-prepared nurses can relate these components to the healthcare system, enhancing their understanding of health, social, and environmental situations.

How can the DNP-prepared nurse apply the concepts of a complex adaptive system to
individual patient care? Provide examples.
The complex adaptive systems are one of the alternatives for the existing paradigm. They help in
demonstrating the different characteristics like the self-organization, non-linearity,
unpredictability and others. They are the systems which tend to exhibit the emergent behavior
that tends to arise from the simple rules and the interconnections have been diversified with the
porous boundaries (Ruppert et al., 2017). The health system and the profession of nursing is
considered as one of the complex adaptive system where the new insight can be gained easily.
There are authors who are focusing on the belief that nursing is a complex system and the visual
model has not been advanced yet. The Meikirch model makes use of the different components
for the interactions that includes the life demands and the interactions which is done biologically
with the given potential and acquired potential, with social determinants and environmental
standards. The example of the same is how the adaptive process works towards the evolutionary
processes from the conception to end the life with the demands and then look for the social,
environmental and the different other numerous adaptive processes.
DNP nurses can apply CAS with focusing on the complexities and the relationships. The
example is that the general assessment of the health of patient is through assessing the different
aspects of health (Trautman, Idzik, Hammersla, & Rosseter, 2018). It includes the assessment of
their lives and how it impacts the health condition. The DNP prepared nurses are able to relate
the components with interactions done to the healthcare system. It helps them with the
understanding about the health, social and the environmental situations.
References
Ruppert, S. D., Kirwan, W. E., Schultz, C. M., Hill, D. R., Jarrell, B. E., & Maryland Higher
Education Commission. (2017). MHEC, CCNE, and NCC Approval of the University of
Maryland School of Nursing, BSN to DNP Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Specialty.
Trautman, D. E., Idzik, S., Hammersla, M., & Rosseter, R. (2018). Advancing Scholarship
through Translational Research: The Role of PhD and DNP Prepared Nurses. Online
Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(2).