Professional Presence and Influence

Society has progressed both socially and technologically as has medicine. This includes our understanding of health and healing as evidenced by Dossey’s three eras of medicine. Era 1, beginning in the 1800’s, reflected the prevailing view that health and illness are totally physical in nature and therapies included surgical procedures and drugs. Era 2, starting in the 1950’s, related to the mind and body. Practitioners began to realize that emotions and feelings can impact health. Era 3, still developing today, began in the 1990’s and builds on the previous eras by adding the spirit and proposes that consciousness is not confined to one’s

But down to its most fundamental level, patients’ needs is nothing more than the presence of someone that could offer them the great comfort they long for. Nonetheless, it is sad to see that this humanistic aspect is fading away and being corroded by the rapidly modernizing health care settings.

Florence Nightingale, considered the founder of modern nursing, first began to establish nursing as a profession during the Crimean War. Since then, nursing theorists have continued to expand on the thought that patients are made up of more than just the symptoms they present with, Abraham Maslow, Carl Jung, Dr. Larry Dossey and Dorothy Johnson, but none more so than Jean Watson. She developed a theory of human caring that contained several core concepts, these concepts lay forth the ground work for how we, as nurses, should care for a patient. These concepts included transpersonal caring relationships (going beyond ego to higher “spiritual” caring

Dr. Larry Dossey has recognized three major periods in the history of medicine: Era I medicine (mechanical medicine), Era II medicine (psychosomatic medicine), and Era III medicine (nonlocal medicine). Era I "mechanical medicine" and which started approximately in the 1860s, reflects the prevailing view that health and illness are completely physical in nature, and so all treatments should be physical ones, such as surgical procedures or drugs. In Era I, the mind or consciousness is fundamentally equated with the functioning of the brain. Era II started to take form in the period following World War II. Physicians began to realize, based on scientific evidence, that disease has a "psychosomatic" aspect: that emotions and feelings can influence the body's functions. Psychological stress, for instance, can contribute to high blood pressure, heart attacks, and ulcers. This was an extreme advance over Era I (Dossey, 1999).

This worldview first states that human beings are holistic, and parts are viewed only in the context of the whole (Fawcett, 1993). I agree with this view as I believe that the various human dimensions are interrelated. It is impossible to separate out the physical from the psychological or spiritual, as they are interdependent. A change in one aspect acts as a causative agent in the others. This aspect of this worldviews frames my practice when I acknowledge that my patient is much more than a set of vital signs and a physical assessment. In each interaction, I strive to ascertain my patient’s psychological and spiritual deficits and attend to these needs in a hierarchical manner so that the patient can return to a state of complete health- physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

Throughout the years there have been various theories and models regarding nursing and healthcare. Doctor Larry Dossey (1982) identified three “Eras” of healthcare as the structure for healthcare in the Western world. Two of which are the Mechanical Model also known as Era I, and the Body/Mind Model known as Era II. Era I began in the 1860’s, the model reflected the view that disease was purely physical in nature and that physical interventions such as medications, surgical procedures, or bloodletting were required to promote healing. Consciousness, thoughts, and beliefs were not considered to be factors in healing but merely side effects of the facets of the

Healthcare, and Medicine is advancing more and more each day. As healthcare workers, our understanding of health and healing has improved and changed in the way we care for our patients. Dossey believed in the three eras of medicine. Era 1 began in the 1800s and its focus was solely on the body. The belief that healing and overall health are totally physical. The therapies and treatment were either medications or surgical procedures. The thought that healing all humans based on bodily functions, and how they can be treated will change as time changes. Era 2 began in the 1950s and it focused on the mind and body. Health care providers realized that

What does it mean to be human, and how do we as nurses provide care to our patients? According to Jean Watson “The future of nursing is tied back to Nightingales sense of calling guided by a sense of commitment and covenantal ethic of human service; cherishing our phenomena, our subject matter and those we serve. It is when we include caring and love in our work and our life we discover and affirm that nursing, like teaching is more than just a job but a life giving and life receiving career for a lifetime of growth and learning” (Watson, J. 1978). There have been many different

1)Era I (Physical Body) is based mainly on the physical aspect of health such as “surgery and drugs”. “The mind of consciousness is equated with functioning”, Whereas Era III(bio-psycho-social) is based more on consciousness.

A1. Models of Health and Healing- The candidate provides a logical discussion, with substantial detail, of the differences between 2 models of health and healing as they relate to what it means to be human.

To become whole and sound, to restore to health, is what the health care providers strive for the patients. What she learned in

Hospice care is a model of care that focuses on relieving symptoms and supporting patients with a life expectancy of six months or less (Altshuler, 2013). For most nurses, caring for a dying elder (individual aged 65 years and above) is a discrete, time-limited experience that begins with first contact, often in a hospital, emergency room, or long term care facility, and ends with the death itself (Phillips & Reed, 2008).

1. Era I – “Mechanical Medicine” began in the 1860’s. Its focus is on surgical procedures and drugs. The thought was that health and illness are only physical in nature and consciousness is equated to functioning of the brain. Era I thinking in displayed in review of psychiatric care in the early 1900 with the use of frontal lobotomies to cure hysteria. The thought was that performing a surgical procedure on the brain will remove the area that is causing the Hysteria. Era I focuses on performing a procedure or providing a medication to fix the body physically, while Era III takes into account the patients perception of health, their stats of mind and their support

Professional presence is a dynamic blend of poise, self confidence, control, and style that empowers us to be able to command respect in any situation. Once acquired, it permits us to project a confidence that others can quickly perceive the first time they meet us.

Evidently, the ultimate reason for patients seeking health care is for healing; healing the body, mind, and spirit. There are plethora of healing theories, including the ancient Greek theory of healing the four humours, spiritual healing, healing through mainstream modern medicine and new emerging holistic process theory of healing. However, not one theory could phantom the ultimate process of healing, nor could find a panacea for cure.