Reflective Analysis Case Report Component
Directions:
Construct a 2,500 word (approximately 10-12 pages) case report that includes a problem or
situation consistent with a DNP area of practice.
Requirements:
- Use a minimum of any two theories discussed in the course to develop the case report.
- Apply one or more theories to describe understanding of the problem or situation of
focus. - Apply one or more theories to the recommended intervention or solution being proposed.
- Develop the case report across the entire scenario from the identified clinical or health
care problem through proposing an intervention, implementation, and evaluation using an
appropriate research instrument. - Describe the evaluation of the selected research instrument in the case report.
- Lastly, explain in full the tenets, rationale for selection (empirical evidence), and clear
application using the language of the theory within the case report.
In addition, your case report must include the following: - Introduction with a problem statement.
- Brief literature review.
- Description of the case/situation/conditions explained from a theoretical perspective.
- Discussion that includes a detailed explanation of the synthesized literature findings.
- Summary of the case.
- Proposed solutions to remedy gaps, inefficiencies, or other issues from a theoretical
approach. - Identification of a research instrument to evaluate the proposed solution along with a
description of how the instrument could be evaluated. - Conclusion.
Reflective Analysis Case Report Component
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS 2
Several nursing theories have been developed to explain the view of the authors on the
person, state of being healthy, the meaning of illness, the environment and the role of nursing in
restoring health (Henderson, 2017). The following essay is my philosophy on the meaning of the
components as mentioned above of nursing and health.
Individual Person
According to my philosophy, a person is a combination of several components. The
components that make up an individual determine their physical characteristics, the religious
beliefs, state of the mental well-being and social and interpersonal capabilities. The components
that make an individual include; the several body systems and organs that work together to
achieve particular physiological role, for example, the gastrointestinal tract that functions to
achieve food digestion, absorption of nutrients and elimination of metabolic waste products
(Osman, Malmuthuge, Gonzalez-Cano, & Griebel, 2017). Additionally, an individual is made up
of the modes of social and interpersonal interaction with others around them, for instance, the
people, the society around the individual. A person is an entity in the society and in the
environment that has an impact on the society and environment they live in. For example, an
individual has the capability of breathing in oxygen from the environment and breath out carbon
dioxide into the same environment. Additionally, a person can contribute to the rules and laws
that are developed to govern the environment. Furthermore, the person can interact with
members of the society, for example, maintaining friendships with other people and carrying out
teamwork with colleagues at work and school.
Influence on Approach to Patients
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS 3
My worldview of nursing and health has influence my approach to patients in several
ways. Firstly, when encountering the patient for the first time, I work to determine whether the
problem they are presenting is categorized either as of physical origin or social origin. The
manifestations of physical origin affect the physiological functioning of the person. The
manifestations that are of social origin affect the interaction between the individual and the
people surrounding them. In most cases, the patients presenting with social manifestations are
mentally ill and psychiatric cases. Notably, each of the manifestations affects or may lead to the
other. For instance, physical manifestations affecting the brain predispose to the development of
mental symptoms. Likewise, mental illness and manifestations, involving drug and substance
abuse lead to physical manifestations, for instance, high blood pressure (de Cates, Stranges,
Blake, & Weich, 2015).
The Environment
The environment is made up of the components that interact with the body’s organ and
organ systems and the social components that determine the social and interpersonal interaction.
The environment is made up of those factors that affect the functioning of the body organs and
organ system. Additionally, the environment is composed of people surrounding the individual
and, therefore, enable an individual to execute social interactions. The environment provides the
components that the body requires to function maximally. For example, an adequate amount of
light is required to enable the eyes to perceive the objects within the vicinity. Similarly, the
external and internal temperatures require being maintained at specific optimal ranges for the
body to function optimally. The temperature affects the structural characteristics of the enzymes
and therefore the rate at which enzyme-catalyzed metabolic reactions occur (Furness, Callaghan,
Rivera, & Cho, 2014).
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS 4
The Interaction between the Individual and the Environment
The individual and the environment interact in several ways. The environment
determines the functioning of the body systems and the social components that make up the
individual. For instance, the presence or absence of allergens in the environment determines the
immunological reactions that the body exhibits when exposed to such allergens. Furthermore, the
presence of allergens causes inflammatory reactions initiated by body organs and may lead to
medical conditions such as asthma (Network, 2014). The social components, for example,
availability of social support, determine the individual’s ability to deal with emotional and
psychological stress and subsequently the state of the mental well-being of the individual.
View of Health
Based on my philosophy, health is a state in which the body organs and systems function
optimally. Additionally, health is a state in which the person can interact harmoniously with the
social components of the environment. Health is the state which the body can work within the
provided environmental conditions. For instance, regarding light and the functioning of the eye,
state of health is a case where the sensory receptors in the retina of the eye are capable of
initiating a sensory stimulus of light at the different levels of light in the environment (Furness et
al., 2014). Additionally, health is a state in which an individual can interact with individuals at
various social setting, for instance, the ability to interact with colleagues at work, a schoolmate in
school and with other family members at the home setting. Furthermore, according to my
philosophy, health states in which the body can adjust to various conditions in the environment
to maximize is functioning.
The Relationship between Illness and Health
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS 5
Illness is an interruption of the harmonious interaction between the body and the
environment. Illness is the condition that affects the ability of the body organs and systems to
adjust to the changes in the environment. Additionally, illness is stated in which the body is
exposed to conditions under which it can function optimally. Illness is a state at which an
individual cannot carry out effective and healthy interactions with the people around them. For
instance, a tumor in the gastrointestinal tract disrupts the ability of the digestive system to allow
food flow, disrupts nutrient absorption and metabolic waste elimination functions (Osman,
2017). Additionally, psychological illness such as paranoid personality disorders disrupts the
ability of the individual to effectively interact with the people around them due to the persistent
suspicion of people around them.
Reason for the Existence of Nursing
According to my philosophy, the role of nursing is to ensure maximum interaction
between the person and the environment. Nursing plays the role of creating harmony between the
person and the physical and the social components of the environment. Specifically, nursing
exists to strengthen and support the ability of the body to function when exposed to varying
conditions of the environment. In other words, the role of nursing is to ensure that the capability
of the individual to function under various environments is maintained. Nursing exists to fill in
the deficit that exists when and the individual is ill, through various adaptation approaches to
ensure that the body’s adaptation mechanisms in different environments are supported.
In conclusion, my philosophy of nursing views an person as comps of physical and social
components. Health is a state whereby there is a harmonious co-existence between the person
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS 6
and the external environment. Illness is an interruption of such harmonious existence and nursing
exists to support the ability of the body to function in any environmental conditions.
REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS 7
References
de Cates, A., Stranges, S., Blake, A., & Weich, S. (2015). Mental well-being: an important
outcome for mental health services?.
Furness, J. B., Callaghan, B. P., Rivera, L. R., & Cho, H. J. (2014). The enteric nervous system
and gastrointestinal innervation: integrated local and central control. In Microbial
endocrinology: The microbiota-gut-brain axis in health and disease (pp. 39-71).
Springer, New York, NY.
Henderson, V. (2017). Nursing theories: a companion to nursing theories and models.
Network, G. A. (2014). The global asthma report 2014. Auckland, New Zealand, 769.
Osman, R., Malmuthuge, N., Gonzalez-Cano, P., & Griebel, P. (2017). Development and
Function of the Mucosal Immune System in the Upper Respiratory Tract of Neonatal
Calves. Annual review of animal biosciences, (0).