DOROTHEA E. OREM

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THEORY

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

• Earned diploma at Providence Hospital in Washington D.C. in the 1930's
• Obtained BSN in 1939 and MSN in 1945 both at Catholic University of America
• Received honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1976

FAMILY & SOCIAL LIFE

• Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1914
• Father a construction worker
• Mother a homemaker
• Youngest of two daughters

NURSING EXPERIENCE

• Worked as a staff nurse
• Private duty nurse
• Nurse educator
• Nurse administrator
• Nurse consultant

OVERVIEW OF OREM'S THEORY

THEORY DEVELOPMENT: THE BEGINNING

• Wanted to better quality of nursing in general hospitals
• Developed definition of nursing between 1949-1957
• Desire for progress in nursing
• Overwhelmed by inability of nurses on not knowing how to communicate
• Convinced about the importance of population studies

WHAT IS NURSING?

• Specialized assistance to persons with disabilities
• Helping him/her learn to do for himself/herself
• Helping a capable person learn how to care for patient such as family member
• Practical and didactic art
• Giving direct assistance to a person due to inabilities of self-care

DEFINITIONS OF DOMAIN CONCEPTS

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• Self-care: practice of activities that individuals initiate and perform on their own behalf in maintaining life, health, and we'll-being