Introduction
Nursing is any form of activity that involves the issuance of medical treatment from the nurse to the patient. Nurses have several functions within the diverse community (global community) and this involves the translation of the knowledge in medical and social science into health care. The main role of the nurses is to identify the health issues within the community and help restore health (Martha, 1971). There are four meta paradigms in nursing. They include the person, the environment, health, and nursing.
Role of Nurses in Global Community
The roles of nurses within the global community are diverse. They need to be well trained to handle people from diverse backgrounds and cultures because the global community is a diverse community. They also need to have knowledge about the whole population in order to integrate that knowledge with their understanding of the concept of nursing. The nurses strive to understand the health and illnesses experienced by the people in a particular community or population. This way, they have the ability to translate and articulate the health and illness that are experienced by the vulnerable persons and families within the community to the persons concerned. These persons concerned may be the policymakers or the health planners. This gives the community a voice to air out their aspirations and issues (Basford & Slevin, 2003).
Nurses usually have great knowledge about various strategies that might be used for intervention. Some strategies apply to the whole community and others apply to families or individuals. They transfer their knowledge in health science and social science to their work in the promotion of health. This may be in advocacy or performing targeted interventions. This may be done individually or collaboratively. However, in both instances, the nurses engage in the inter-disciplinary activities that are central to nursing. These include issues such as assessment, policy development, and assurance.
When performing interventions or pursuing certain strategies, they may do it on multiple levels. However, this depends on where the most effective results are possible. The main role of nurses, in this case, would be to help prevent illness, injury, and disability. They also ensure the promotion of health and help the different communities within the population to maintain high levels of health. In order to ensure this, the nurses may be involved in different activities.
For example, they are involved in providing great input to interdisciplinary programs that are important in monitoring, anticipating, and responding to public health issues in communities. This is regardless of the diseases or threats identified. They are also involved in the evaluation of health trends and risk factors within the community and assist in determining the priorities for target interventions. The nurses work hand in hand with the community in order to enable the development of public policy and planning of activities to be involved to ensure the prevention of diseases. Nurses also take part in the assessment and evaluation of health care services to ensure that individuals are well informed about the programs and services that are offered and are assisted in the utilization of the particular services.
Metaparadigms in nursing
There are four basic concepts (meta paradigms) in nursing. They include the person, nursing, health, and the environment (Basford & Slevin, 2003).
- Person – the person, in this case, is not viewed as a patient. Rather, he is treated as a subject. This is because he or she makes part of the families and other social groups. The individual is seen as being unique and autonomous. Therefore, every individual deserves respect and to be treated as a human being. People are not mere objects and should not be used only for professional surveillance.
- Health – this paradigm is considered as being relative and not dealt with in a strictly clinical manner. This means that it is contextual and negotiable. Since it is not absolute, it differs from person to person. For example, health to a person suffering from cancer may be simply the fact that he or she is alive. To another, however, the pains and suffering undergone by the “healthy” cancer patient may not be considered healthy at all. Therefore, this term may apply differently for different individuals.
- Environment – this paradigm explains the combination of factors required for the full recovery of the patient. This may include the person’s life at home, his or her mental state, physical pain, nature of work, and many other factors. All these factors have an impact on the speediness of recovery and are thus important.
- Nursing – nursing itself is a metaparadigm. It is described as the way in which nurses transfer their care to the patients. There is some sense of compassion and this defines nurses. This may be seen in the way they help patients in relieving their pain and thus they help ease suffering (Martha, 1971).
Conclusion
Global health is place in the health of medical practitioners such as the nurses who are knowledgeable about the various strategies for intervention. They form a special part of the community that is dedicated in the promotion of health. Their roles are diverse and all include giving services to the community and to individuals.
References
Basford, L. & Slevin, O. (2003). Theory and practice of nursing: An integrated approach to caring practice. Britain: Ashford Colour Press Ltd.
Martha, R. (1971). An introduction to the theoretical basis of nursing. American Journal of Nursing, 71(10), 2026-2027.