Theory inspired practice for end-of-life cancer care: An exploration of the McGill Model of Nursing
Abstract
Nursing theories provide inspiration for practice by describing how to meet needs, enhance wellness, and respond to clients as whole persons. This paper discusses the McGill Model of Nursing with reference to how its ideas can support nursing practice for patients with cancer during the end-of-life phase. We suggest this model provides for a relational approach that is congruent with the philosophy of palliative care. The goal of this paper is to stimulate reflection amongst oncology nurses and nursing leaders. By comparing the value base of our practice against extant nursing theory, we may discover new opportunities for teaching and learning about what it means to be an end-of-life care nurse.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Allen, M. (1977). Comparative theories of the expanded role in
nursing and implications for nursing practice: A working paper.
Nursing Papers, 9, 38–45.
Allen, M. (1981). The health dimension in nursing practice: Notes on
nursing in primary health care. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 6,
–154.
Allen, F.M., & Warner, M. (2002). A developmental model of health
and nursing. Journal of Family Nursing, 8(2), 96–135.
Callanan, M. (2008). Final journeys. A practical guide for bringing
care and comfort at the end of life. New-York, NY: Bantam.
Canadian Cancer Society’s Steering Committee on Cancer
Statistics. (2011). Canadian Cancer Statistics 2011. Toronto,
ON: Canadian Cancer Society. Retrieved from http://www.
cancer.ca/Canada-wide/About%20cancer/Cancer%20statistics.
aspx?sc_lang=en
Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association Nursing Standards
Committee. (2009). Canadian hospice palliative care nursing
standards of practice. Retrieved from http://www.chpca.net/
interest_groups/nurses_ig.html
Canadian Nurses Association. (2009). Oncology nursing certification:
exam blueprint and specialty competencies. Retrieved from
http://www.cna-aiic.ca/CNA/documents/pdf/publications/
CERT_Oncology_2009_e.pdf
Carnevale, F.A. (2005). The palliation of dying: A Heideggerian
analysis of the “technologization†of death. Indo-Pacific Journal
of Phenomenology, 5(1), 1–12.
Chekryn Reimer, J., Davies, B., & Martens, N. (1991). The nurse’s
role in helping families through the transition of “fading awayâ€.
Cancer Nursing, 14(6), 321–327.
Clark, D. (2007). From margins to centre: a review of the history of
palliative care in cancer. Lancet Oncology, 8, 430–438.
Clark, D. (2002). Between hope and acceptance: the medicalisation
of dying. British Medical Journal, 324, 905–907.
Coyne, P., Paice, J.A., Ferrell, B.R., Malloy, P., Virani, R., & Fennimore,
L.A. (2007). Oncology end-of-life nursing education consortium
training program: Improving palliative care in cancer. Oncology
Nursing Forum, 34(4), 801–807.
Dalton, C.C., & Gottlieb, L.N. (2003). The concept of readiness to
change. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 42(2), 108–117.
Dumont, I., Dumont, S., & Mongeau, S. (2008). End-of-life care and
the grieving process: family caregivers who have experienced
the loss of a terminal-phase cancer patient. Qualitative Health
Research, 18(8), 1049–1061.
Fanslow-Brunjes, C. (2008). Using the power of hope to cope with
dying. The four stages of hope. Sanger, CA: Quill Driver Books.
Feeley, N., & Gottlieb, L.N. (2000). Nursing approaches for working
with family strengths and resources. Journal of Family Nursing,
(1), 9–24.
Feeley, N., & Gottlieb, L.N. (1998). Classification systems for health
concerns, nursing strategies and client outcomes: Nursing
practice with families who have a child with a chronic illness.
Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 30, 45–59.
Fitzpatrick, J.J. (2005). Nursing knowledge development:
Relationship to science and professional practice. In J.J.
Fitzpatrick, & A.L. Whall (Eds.), Conceptual models of nursing.
Analysis and application (4th ed., pp. 1–4). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Gallant, M.H., Beaulieu, M.C., & Carnevale, F.A. (2002). Partnership:
An analysis of the concept within the nurse-client relationship.
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 40(2), 149–157.
Gottlieb, L.N. (1997). Health promoters: Two contrasting styles
in community nursing. In L.N. Gottlieb, & H. Ezer (Eds.), A
perspective on health, family, learning, and collaborative nursing.
A collection of writings on the McGill model of nursing. (pp. 87–
. Montreal, QC: McGill University School of Nursing.
Gottlieb, L.N. (1995). A blueprint for the development of the
profession of nursing: The legacy of F. Moyra Allen and Joan
Gilchrist. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 27(3), 5–7.
Gottlieb, L.N., & Feeley, N., with Dalton, C. (2005). The collaborative
partnership approach to care. A delicate balance. Toronto, ON:
Elsevier Canada.
Gottlieb, L.N., & Gottlieb, B. (2007). The developmental/health
framework within the McGill model of nursing: “Laws of natureâ€
guiding whole person care. Advances in Nursing Science, 30(1),
E43–E57.
Gottlieb, L., & Rowat, K. (1987). The McGill model of nursing: A
practice-derived model. Advances in Nursing Science, 9(4), 51–
Gros, C., & Ezer, H. (1997). Promoting inquiry and nurse-client
collaboration: A unique approach to teaching and learning. In
L.N. Gottlieb, & H. Ezer (Eds.), A perspective on health, family,
learning, and collaborative nursing. A collection of writings on
the McGill model of nursing. (pp. 219–225). Montreal, QC: McGill
University School of Nursing.
Kessler, D. (2007). The needs of the dying. A guide for bringing hope,
comfort, and love to life’s final chapter. (10th Anniversary ed.).
New-York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
Kristjanson, L.J., & Aoun, S. (2004). Palliative care for families:
Remembering the hidden patients. Canadian Journal of
Psychiatry, 49, 359–365.
Leahey, M., & Harper-Jaques, S. (1996). Family-nurse relationships:
core assumptions and clinical implications. Journal of Family
Nursing, 2(2), 133–151.
Lowey, S. (2008). Letting go before death: A concept analysis. Journal
of Advanced Nursing, 63, 208–215.
Meiers, S.J., & Brauer, D.J. (2008). Existential caring in the family
health experience: A proposed conceptualization. Scandinavian
Journal of Caring Sciences, 22, 110–117.
Meleis, A.I. (2007). Theoretical nursing. Development and progress.
(4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Parse, R.R. (1990). Health: A personal commitment. Nursing Science
Quarterly, 3(3), 136–140.
Parse, R.R. (1998). The human becoming school of thought. A
perspective for nurses and other health professionals. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pastrana, T., Junger, S., Ostgathe, C., Elsner, F., & Radbruch, L. (2008).
A matter of definition—key elements identified in a discourse
analysis of definitions of palliative care. Palliative Medicine, 22,
–232.
Perry, B. (1998). Moments in time: Images of exemplary nursing care.
Ottawa, ON: Canadian Nurses Association.
Pugnaire, C. (1981). Nursing: the Science of Health-Promoting
Interaction. Unpublished Master’s study School of Nursing, McGill
University, Montreal, Canada.
Pugnaire-Gros, C., & Young, L.E. (2007). Teaching the McGill model
of nursing and client-centred care: Collaborative strategies for
staff education and development. In L.E. Young & B.L. Patterson
(Eds.), Teaching nursing: Developing a student-centred learning
environment (pp. 189–220). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.
Quill, T.E., Arnold, R., & Back, A.L. (2009). Discussing treatement
preferences with patients who want “everythingâ€. Annals of
Internal Medicine, 151, 345–349.
Saunders, C. (2000). The evolution of palliative care. Patient
Education and Counseling, 41, 7–13.
Sjolander, C., Hedberg, B., & Ahlstrom, G. (2011). Striving to be
prepared for the painful: Management strategies following a
family members’ diagnosis of advanced cancer. BMC Nursing,
(18), 1–8. doi:10.1186/1472-6955-10-18
Stuart, M. (2002). F. Moyra Allen: A life in nursing, 1921–1996.
Journal of Family Nursing, 8(2), 157–165.
Thompson, G.N., McClement, S.E., & Daeninck, P.J. (2006). “Changing
lanesâ€: Facilitating the transition from curative to palliative care.
Journal of Palliative Care, 22(2), 91–98.
Thorne, S. (2007). Conceptualizing the purpose of nursing:
Philosophical challenges in creating meaningful theoretical
learning experiences. In L.E. Young & B.L. Patterson (Eds.),
Teaching nursing: Developing a student-centered learning
environment (pp. 347–363). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.
Twycross, R. (2007). Patient care: Past, present, and future. Omega:
The Journal of Death and Dying, 56(1), 7–19.
Willis, D.G., Grace, P.J., & Roy, C. (2008). A central unifying focus
for the discipline: Facilitating humanization, meaning, choice,
quality of life, and healing in living and dying. Advances in
Nursing Science, 31(1), E28–E40.
Wilson, D.M., Truman, C.D., Thomas, R., Fainsinger, R., Kovacs-
Burns, K., Froggatt, K., et al. (2009). The rapidly changing location
of death in Canada, 1994–2004. Social Science & Medicine, 68,
–1758.
Wright, D., Brajtman, S., & Bitzas, V. (2009). Human relationships
at the end of life: An ethical ontology for practice. Journal of
Hospice and Palliative Nursing, 11(4), 219–227.
Wright, L.M., & Leahey, M. (2005). Nurses and families. A guide to
family assessment and intervention. (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA:
F.A. Davis Company.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.


