Roy's Adaptation Model Paper

Strong emotional responses can be prompted after an individual learns that he/she is diagnosed with cancer. A person may feel overwhelmed, anxious, or sad with the fact that they may not know how to cope with the taxing days ahead of them. Other individuals may feel angry, disbelief, or a sense of loss because the emotional turmoil that accompanies a diagnosis may be profound (Support Groups, 2009). At times, even the most supportive family and friends cannot understand what it is like to have cancer. However, there are many support groups that are able to help a patient receive emotional and educational support throughout their time being sick (Support Groups, 2009).
According to the National Cancer Institute, many studies revealed that joining …show more content…
The nurse can use a clinical tool or research instrument to gather information about the current state of adaptation in patients (Kearney-Nunnery, 2012, p. 51). Although I did not have a tool to assess the current state of adaptation for the patients in the cancer support group, I was able to determine that there were many women in different emotional states. Some of the women who were new to the support group and recently diagnosed with breast cancer displayed feelings of shock and disbelief. They did not believe that they had cancer. Some of the other women who had been to the support group before displayed feelings of anger.
The second step is the assessment of stimuli. The nurse determines the focal and contextual stimuli which are the problems most immediately confronting the person and the contributing factors in the situation (Kearney-Nunnery, 2012, p. 51). All of the women in the support group share the focal stimuli as being diagnosed with breast cancer, however, the contributing factors may differ from person to person. These factors may have an influence in an individual’s behavior and how they cope with the