Nursing Assignment: Analyzing Juan Duran's Needs in Diabetes Care

This nursing assignment presents a case study of Juan Duran, a Mexican-American veteran visiting a diabetes clinic. The assignment analyzes his situation, highlighting the application of nursing theories, specifically Betty Neuman's and Dorthea Orem's theories, to assess his needs and provide appropriate care. The student explores the importance of holistic assessment, considering sociocultural, spiritual, and psychological factors. The case study details the nurse's interactions with Duran, emphasizing the need for patient education, self-care management, and the integration of theoretical frameworks into practical nursing interventions. The student reflects on how these theories guide patient assessment and enhance the quality of care, drawing parallels to personal experiences in their nursing practice. The assignment also considers the patient's emotional state, given the recent loss of his daughter, and how this impacts his ability to manage his diabetes. The student emphasizes the importance of understanding the patient's knowledge about their disease and how this understanding can be improved through education and support.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT 1
Nursing Assignment
Name of Student
School

NURSING ASSIGNMENT 2
Nursing Assignment
The complex nature of nursing signifies that not only nursing skills are needed but also
people and critical thinking skills. To get things working through the field, we apply our critical
thinking skills as we get more experienced through fieldwork experience. Since our patients are
occasionally becoming advanced, there is a need for knowledge advancement in nursing practice.
However, this should not be at the expense of such theories as Betty Neuman, Florence
Nightingale, Virgina Henderson, among others. These theories are at the heart of the nursing
practice.
In our cases study, we encountered Juan Duran, who is a Mexican-American male. He is
a veteran of the navy and is visiting a diabetic clinic to check his insulin care. He is ignorant of
how to begin his insulin. Jennie, a nurse, helps him with his needs. Jennie begins by asking
simple questions and ultimately succeeds in getting the whole picture of his condition. Duran is
married and stays with his wife in Chula Vista. Not long ago, his daughter was brutally
murdered, making him more busy helping his wife caring for their daughter's child. Duran seems
scared whenever asked about his syringe and daughter. This is exactly how I used this theory on
Mary. However, we need to assess the holistic aspect of his life. At this stage, Jennie introduces
Orem's and Neuman’s theories. Duran’s case compares with Mary’s that I handled a month ago
in which I applied Orem and Neuman’s theories.
The main focus of Neuman’s theory is the protection of human needs and relieving stress.
Neuman believes in nursing interventions that reduce stress. According to Naranjo Hernández,
Pacheco and Alejandro (2016), “Neuman adhered to the meta-paradigm concept and has
developed numerous additional concepts for her model." Neuman defines a human as a client

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system, a composite of variables such as psychological, physiological, sociological,
developmental, and spiritual needs (Smith & Parker, 2015). This case study taught me how to
apply Betty Neuman’s theory in real life when assessing patients like Duran. With this theory,
essential data can be collected. Sociocultural data like the perception of his culture of diabetes
and their belief in the treatment of diabetes can be collected. Also, spiritual data like whether
they have enough support from others can be obtained. Psychological data, like how he deals
with his illness and how he will cope with taking insulin forever, needs checking (Schaffner,
Tillett & Volz, 2016). This theory demonstrates to me that patient assessment involves a holistic
assessment rather than just getting to know them.
We also used the Dorthea Orem theory to assess Duran. I discovered that this theory
could be used to assess Duran's knowledge about his diabetes (Hashemlu, Maslakpak &
Bagherie, 2015). The theory reveals how much the patient understands his condition and gives us
what we should continue educating him on. His diet needs assessment to help his condition.
Also, self-care will be vital as he needs to administer insulin. I once used Orem’s theory to assess
a patient’s knowledge about hos disease in my nursing practice.
The two theories I have used help to assess the patient holistically. I follow Orem's theory
to assess their knowledge about their disease and Neuman’s theory of psychological needs to
assess their diet. There is much that I learned through the two theories that will improve my
assessment of patients.

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References
Hashemlu, L., Maslakpak, M. H., & Bagherie, F. (2015). The effects of a self-care educational
program based on Orem's theory on the quality of life of older adults residing in nursing
homes. Modern Care Journal, 12(4).
Naranjo Hernández, Y., Pacheco, C., & Alejandro, J. (2016). Importance of self-care in elderly
adults with diabetes mellitus. Revista de Enfermedades no Transmisibles Finlay, 6(3),
215-220.
Schaffner, L. D., Tillett, N. L., & Volz, T. M. (2016). Empowerment works! Clinical nurses and
the professional practice model. Nursing Management, 47(7), 11-14.
Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing theories and nursing practice. FA Davis.