Virginia Henderson’s Need Theory

Virginia Henderson is one of the first nurses who tried to describe nursing as a profession at the end of the 19th century. The ideas of Henderson had a considerable impact on many subsequent theories of nursing. Nursing derives from the concept of the fundamental needs of a person. The primary responsibility of a nurse is to satisfy the needs of a patient. Henderson’s theory represents an attempt to define a special role of nursing in the process of provision of health care services. The theory tries to describe nursing care, relying on the general universal principles irrespective of the diagnosis and treatment (Basavanthappa, 2007, p.61). The given term paper will present a detailed critique of Henderson’s Needs Theory through utilizing Chinn and Kramer’s basis for evaluation of nursing models. The theory critique will cover such criteria as semantic clarity, semantic consistency, structural clarity, structural consistency, and simplicity, generality, accessibility, and importance of the theory. Semantic Clarity Semantic clarity is understood as the easy perception and practical meaning of the theory (Chinn & Kramer, 1999). Henderson’s need theory is clear for understanding and can be effectively used in the clinic practice. According to the theory, a person is an independent individual having certain requirements depending on his or her social and cultural accessory (Ahtisham & Jacoline, 2015, p. 448). In usual conditions, people can satisfy their needs, but due to a disease or changes in an organism they cannot make the amount of efforts necessary to satisfy his/ her requirements. In such cases, arises a need for nursing care. The possibilities to understand the needs of the other people are limited. A nurse should make all efforts to understand what a patient needs. It is necessary to

remember about the fundamental human needs irrespective of the condition of a patient and his/ her diagnosis.