PATIENT CENTERED

APPROACHES IN
NURSING
Presented by:
John Henry O. Valencia, RN,
RM
Master of Arts in Nursing
CHANGING THE WORLD...
ONE STEP AT A TIME
Faye Glenn Abdellah was one of
the most influential nursing
theorist and public health scientist
in our era. It is extremely rare to
find someone who has dedicated
all her life to the advancement of
the nursing profession and
accomplish this feat with so much
distinction and merit.

UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
NATIONAL WOMEN'S HALL
OF FAME IN 2000

"We cannot wait for the world to change. Those of us with intelligence,
purpose, and vision must take the lead and change the world. Let us move
forward together! I promise never to rest until my work has been
completed!

And she couldnt have said it any better. Let us get to know this
extraordinary theorist by understanding her theory, appreciating how her
life story influenced her scientific pursuit, and discerning how her theory
can be applied in the ever-dynamic field of nursing.


UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
WHERE SHE CAME
FROM
Dr. Abdellah was born in New York in 1919. Her father was of
Algerian heritage and her mother of Scottish.

She grew up in a family that was committed to service to their
country. Her only brother died of pancreatic cancer related to
his World War II military


UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
WHY SHE BECAME A
NURSE
Faye Glenn Abdellah was born on March 13, 1919, in New York City.
Years later, on May 6, 1937, the German hydrogen-fueled
airship Hindenburg exploded over Lakehurst, New Jersey, where 18-
year-old Abdellah and her family then lived, and Abdellah and her
brother ran to the scene to help.
In an interview with a writer for Advance for Nurses, Abdellah
recalled:
"I could see people jumping from the zeppelin and I didn't know how to
take care of them, so it was then that I vowed that I would learn
nursing."


UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINTMENT
In 1942, Abdellah earned a nursing diploma and is magna cum
laude from Fitkin Memorial Hospital's School of Nursing New
Jersey (now Ann May School of Nursing).
She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in 1945, a Master of
Arts degree in 1947 and Doctor of Education in Teachers College,
Columbia University. In 1947 she also took Master of Arts Degree in
Physiology.
UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
With her advanced education, Abdellah could have chosen to
become a doctor. However, as she explained in her Advance for
Nurses interview,
"I never wanted to be an M.D. because I could do all I wanted to do
in nursing, which is a caring profession.

UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
AS AN EDUCATOR AND
RESEARCHER
Abdellah helped transform the focus of
the profession from disease centered to
patient centered.
She expanded the role of nurses to
include care of families and the elderly.
She was selected as Deputy Surgeon
General in 1982. She retired in 1989.

UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
POSITIONS
Dr. Abdellah had an astonishing career, marked by the passion and
commitment to public service that had first led her to be a nurse.
She joined the U.S. Public Health Service in 1949.
She achieved the rank of a two-star rear admiral.
She was chosen as the Deputy Surgeon General, the first time that
either a woman or a nurse had been appointed to serve in that role.

UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
PUBLICATIONS
In 1960, Abdellah published her foundational theory in Patient-
Centered Approaches to Nursing.
At the time, Abdellah was already a research consultant with the
U.S. Public Health service, so she collaborated with three nurse
educators who wrote chapters on applying Abdellahs theory to
diploma, associate, and bachelors level degree programs.
The main principle of Abdellahs book was that the patient should
be at the center of nursing inquiry and work, not the disease or the
physician or the hospital.

UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
PUBLICATIONS (CONT.)
Abdellah updated this work over the next two decades in works
such as New Directions in Patient-Centered Nursing (Abdellah et al.,
1973).
She also published highly-regarded works in nursing research, such
as Better Patient Care through Nursing Research (Abdellah, F.G. &
Levine, E., 1979).
One of her most recent books on research was Preparing Nursing
Research for the 21
st
Century (Abdellah, F.G. & Levine, E., 1994).
UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING
WHAT HAS INFLUENCED
FAYE ABDELLAH IN THE
DEVELOPMENT HER OWN
MODEL OF NURSING?
1937 She wanted to be a nurse on the day she saw
Hindenburg explode.
1949 She spent 40 years in Public Health Service where she
first became involved in research, being assigned to perform
studies to improve nursing practices.
1960 She was influenced by the desire to promote client-
centered comprehensive nursing care.

UST GRADUATE SCHOOL MA IN NURSING