The application of the Neuman systems model to intensive care

Willingness to explore different ideas and initiate change as part of the search for better ways of providing care is essential in intensive care nursing. For a number of years now there has been discussion of the possible benefits of using an explicit model of nursing as a framework for practice and many such models have been developed and described in nursing literature, however there have been some difficulties in using them in practice. In this paper a brief account of some of the characteristics of intensive therapy units (ITUs), the possible merits of using nursing models, the nursing process, and nursing care plans in them is followed by a summary description of the Neuman systems model of nursing. A description of the process of choosing and using this model in one unit includes the 'Nursing philosophy for ITU' and nursing documentation which were developed.