Marjory Gordon: Functional Patterns

Marjory Gordon was an American professor and theoretician who created a nursing assessment technique known as Gordon's functional patterns. This guide was used to help nurses make a complete recognition of their patients more completely.

Gordon was the first president of the NANDA (North American Nursing Diagnosis Association), an association whose main mission was to standardize the diagnosis in the field of nursing. He was also part of the American Academy of Nursing and received the title of"living legend"from the same association in 2009.

Biography of Marjory Gordon

In addition to this, Marjory Gordon was also an emeritus professor at Boston College, where she taught nursing classes. In that same university was where he obtained his doctorate, after having graduated from the University of New York.

Index

  • 1 Functional patterns of Marjory Gordon
    • 1.1 Perception of health
    • 1.2 Nutrition and metabolism
    • 1.3 Elimination
    • 1.4 Activity and exercise
    • 1.5 Sleep and rest
    • 1.6 Cognition and perception
    • 1.7 Self-perception and self-concept
    • 1.8 Role and relationships
    • 1.9 Sexuality and reproduction
    • 1.10 Tolerance to stress
    • 1.11 Values ​​and beliefs
  • 2 References

Functional patterns of Marjory Gordon

Marjory Gordon was especially known for creating the nursing diagnostic model known as functional patterns. It consists of a list of activities and behaviors that contribute to the health and quality of life of people.

To examine the patients, both questions and questionnaires are used, as well as objective data, extracted from observation by the nurse.

Marjory Gordon distinguished eleven functional patterns of behavior in his works. The full list is the following:

- Perception of health.

- Nutrition and metabolism.

- Elimination.

- Activity and exercise.

- Sleep and rest.

- Cognition and perception.

- Self-perception and self-concept.

- Role and relationships.

- Sexuality and reproduction.

- Tolerance to stress.

- Values ​​and beliefs.

Perception of health

This first pattern seeks to determine with a few questions the degree of health concern on the part of the patient, in addition to researching their habits and their current level of well-being.

The questions try to inquire about the general health of the patient, as for example, the times he has been ill during the last years. In addition, it seeks to investigate the possible harmful and beneficial habits of the person, such as the use of alcohol or tobacco, junk food, the level of habitual exercise and other data.

To also check the degree of self-awareness that the patient has on their own health habits, you are often asked about why you think your current illness has occurred, whether you have tried to do something to improve your health or whether you usually Follow the recommendations of your doctor.

Nutrition and metabolism

This pattern focuses on examining the amount of nutrients and calories that the patient ingests and its relationship with the daily amounts needed. Therefore, some typical questions are what you eat and drink in a day, if you have recently lost or gained weight or if you follow a specific diet.

You may also be asked about the use of supplements or vitamins, or if you have had a problem with your appetite recently.

Elimination

The third pattern investigates the correct functioning of the body's excretory apparatus; that is to say, of the urine, the sweat and the functions of the intestine. Thanks to the use of this pattern, the nurse can discover the quality, quantity and regularity of the patient's stools.

Again, most of the questions in this pattern focus on the patient's history. Some of the questions may be:"Have you ever had bowel or urine problems?"Or"Have you noticed any major changes in recent times?".

If necessary, the nurse may also ask for urine or stool samples to make a more complete diagnosis.

Activity and exercise

This pattern focuses on investigating the level of physical activity of the patient, both in the exercise that he does consciously and during his daily tasks. It also tries to know more about the energy that the subject has to perform their daily activities.

Sleep and rest

The fifth pattern focuses on studying the patient's sleep and rest patterns. Do you have enough energy after getting up? Do you usually have trouble sleeping, or do you wake up excessively soon? Do you sleep the necessary hours?

If necessary, the patient could undergo some live sleep study to detect problems such as apnea.

Cognition and perception

This pattern seeks to identify the patient's ability to perceive elements of their environment through the five senses, as well as their ability to make decisions, follow instructions, think logically and use memory.

Some of the most common difficulties associated with this pattern are perceptual problems (such as myopia or deafness) or difficulties in reasoning and using available information.

Self-perception and self-concept

Self-concept and self-perception have to do with the way we see ourselves. Do you believe in yourself? How would you describe yourself? How do you feel about your own body, your way of being or your emotions? Do you feel in control of your own life? Or on the contrary, do you think that you are a slave to the circumstances?

Role and relationships

Interpersonal relationships are one of the most important parts of people's lives. This pattern serves to investigate about the patient's relationships with people in their environment; For example, how do you get along with your family? Do you often feel alone? How do you relate to people in your work or study environment?

If relatives or friends are present, the nurse could also observe the relationships between them to acquire objective data.

Sexuality and reproduction

This pattern should only be used if it is appropriate for the patient's age and specific situation.

If the nurse thinks it is necessary to know more about the subject, he or she may ask the following questions: Do you usually have sex? Are you satisfied with them? Or on the contrary, do you experience any kind of problem? Do you normally use some type of contraceptive?

Tolerance to stress

This pattern is responsible for studying the stress levels of patients, examining both their way of dealing with complicated life situations and the difficult situations they have had to live in recent times.

Some of the most used questions are: how do you deal with stress? Have you experienced any crisis or major change in the last year?

Values ​​and beliefs

Does the patient achieve what is proposed in life? Do you have important plans for the future? Do you have any beliefs that help you cope with complicated situations?

This pattern is responsible for studying the way in which the patient faces life and relates to the world and himself.

References

  1. "Marjory Gordon"in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 9, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
  2. "Gordon's Functional Health Patterns"in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 9, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
  3. "Functional patterns of Marjory Gordon"in: MindMeister. Retrieved on: 9 March 2018 from MindMeister: mindmeister.com.
  4. "Typology of Functional Patterns"in: Observatory of Nursing Methodology. Retrieved on: March 9, 2018 from Observatory of Nursing Methodology: ome.es.
  5. "Functional Health Patterns"in: Nursing Theories. Retrieved on: March 9, 2018 from Nursing Theories: currentnursing.com.


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