Nurse, Theorist, and Author
Virginia Avenel Henderson was born on November 30th, 1897 in Kansas City, Missouri. Her parents were Lucy Minor Abbot and Daniel B. Henderson, and had a family of eight children where Virginia was the fifth. She was named after the state her mother longed for. When Virginia was four years old she began her schooling in Virginia at a school owned by her grandfather. Henderson gained much education from her aunts and uncle Charles Abbot, at his school for boys in the community Army School of Nursing at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C when she enrolled in 1918. She received her nursing diploma in 1921. Two years later she began teaching at the Norfolk Protestant Hospital in Virginia, and continued getting her bachelor and master's degree in 1934. For 14 years of her career, she worked as an instructor and associate professor at Teachers College, Colombia University in New York. Starting 1953, Henderson was a research associate at Yale University School of Nursing. She became recipient of numerous recognitions. In 1939, she revised: Harmer's classic 4th edition textbook for nursing and later wrote the 5th edition, incorporating her personal definition of nursing.
Virginia Henderson's Need Theory
Henderson called her definition of nursing her "concept", she really emphasized the importance of increasing the patient's independence and focus on the basic human needs so that the profess after hospitalization would not be delayed. She described the nurse's role as substitutive (doing for the person), supplementary (helping the person), complementary (working with the person), with the goal of helping the person become as independent as possible. Her voice on nursing was the following:
"The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge. And to do this in such way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible"
The 14 components
- Breathe normally. Eat and drink adequately.
- Eliminate body waste
- Move and maintain desirable postures
- Sleep and rest
- Select suitable clothes-dress and undress
- Maintain body temperature within normal range by adjusting clothing and modifying environment
- Keep the body clean and well groomed and protect the integument
- Avoid dangers in the environment and avoid injuring others
- Communicate with others in expressing emotions, needs, fears, or opinions
- Worship according to one's faith
- Work in such a way that there is a sense of accomplishment
- Play or participate in various forms of recreation
- Learn, discover or satisfy the curiosity that leads to normal development and health and use the available health facilities.
The first 9 components are physiological. The tenth and fourteenth are psychological aspect of communicating and learning. The eleventh component is spiritual and moral. The twelfth and thirtieth components are sociologically oriented to occupation and recreation.
Application to the Nurse Aide job
Henderson's theory and 14 components of nursing are relatively simple, logical, and can be applied to individuals of all ages. This Needs Theory can be used for nurse aids to set goals based on the components. Achieving these needs, the resident can be a great basis to further improve one's performance towards nursing care.