Myra Levine’s Conservation Model of Nursing Essay

The interface between the ‘person’ and the ‘environment’ is maintained through adaptation, organismic response and conservation. Another paradigm to the theory is ‘Health’, which comprises of both wholeness and adaptation which not only means healing of an inflicted body part but the ability of the individual to restart his normal life course without constraints. ‘Nursing’ is taken as human interaction, a profession that relies on effective communication and building healthy personal relationships with others.

The characteristics of the conservation theory reflect on the varied ways of looking at the phenomenon, a comprehensive viewpoint of nursing care, heading in a sequential and logical manner. The theory is simple, easy to use and provides the base for a hypothesis that can be tested. It is most effective in acute care settings. The conservation theory is based on the assumption that nurses have the potential to create an environment that is most suitable for quicker healing.

All human beings are unique in sensing, reflecting, reasoning, understanding, strategizing etc; they are agents who act deliberately to achieve specific goals and objectives. Every individual possesses an adaptive ability based on his personal experiences that help in generating unique messages. A human being is a social animal and constantly interacts with his environment and society. All that is needed is the nursing profession to deal with the emerging demands of self-care.

The conservational model involves two main theories, the theory of redundancy which redefines all aspects of human life and the therapeutic theory finds out ways to organize the nursing intrusions which have to be confronted in medical practices. It also adds up to healing through natural response restores integrity, ensures comfort and stimulates the physiological process.

Levine’s model can also be used as a theoretical tool for wound management to add on to the best nursing practices engrossing wholeness and health keeping the cost within reasonable limits.

As per the case undertaken, a patient was currently discharged who was on Gastro Intestinal unit (GI). The patient’s case history revealed that she was admitted in her 50s suffering from adenocarcinoma pancreas, recovered from laprosectomy due to cancer, problem in the gall bladder, bile duct and duodenum, antiphospholipid antibody, DVT, HTN, and cardiomyopathy. Lost a pregnancy in the 1980s. The patient is undergoing extreme pain, is fearful and anxious.

The interventions provided in the above case were Morphine IV to release the pain. The client had PRN Percocet, continuous vomiting, so was intervened through gravel. The patient is insulin dependant diabetic, CBS QID, IV antibiotics Vital signs QID Foley catheter-, draining dressing and wound drainage- serosanguinous small amount mobile within assist, DAT, unable to ambulate with physiotherapist because of pain.

For the treatment of the patient, Levine’s Conservation Model was applied to provide the best wound management and nursing care. The following procedure was adopted as per the model intervention:

• Firstly Assessment is to be carried out which includes a collection of facts through observation, interviews related to the internal and external environment based on the four principles of the Conservation Model. Nurses are supposed to observe the patients identify organismic responses to illness and the factors that affect the patient.
• Secondly, Trophicognosis is conducted to diagnose the provocative facts in a patient. A scientific and systematic study is applied so as to a nursing care judgment plan about the patient’s needs, assistance and requirements depending upon the data collected and interpreted.
• The third step includes the declaration of the hypothesis which involves detailed planning; the hypothesis proposed by the nurse determines the future course of action or in other words, it helps in drafting the nursing plan which highlights all the problems and their supportive remedial measures. The key points of Levine’s Conservation model adaptation and wholeness should be the focal areas of the nursing plan.
• The fourth step of the nursing process aims to pinpoint the interventions required for the cure of the patient by testing the hypothesis. The interventions designed are in accordance with the conservation principles emphasizing the main areas of adaptation and wholeness, which are mutually acceptable by all.
• The last procedure is the evaluation of the entire process including meticulous observations of the organismic responses to the jotted interventions, assessing whether the hypothesis is appropriate or not and finally reframing the hypothesis if found unsuitable with the nursing plan.

As per the case study, th