Diagnosis requires a certain approach to define the exact illness that a patient is suffering from. Complexities create an uncertain environment for the diagnosis of the real illness that one is suffering from. The presence of uncertainty in diagnosis of an illness has resulted in the emergence of different nursing theories that define diagnostic procedures. For instance, Joan, who is fifty five years old, was diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer. Oropharyngeal cancer is an illness that affects the oropharynx. The oropharynx is affected by the growth of malignant cells, causing cancer.
She experienced difficulty swallowing, and, thus, she decided to go to an ENT doctor, who with the help of endoscopy, discovered a large mass of esophageal sphincter. She had to undergo chemotherapy together with radiation treatments as a control measure for oropharyngeal cancer. Joan’s diagnosis presents a nursing theory. The theory of uncertainty in illness is a common nursing phenomenon that is applied in most diagnoses through its application in treatment. The uncertainty in illness theory is applied in terms of attempted approaches used in treatment. Therefore, the research paper aims at discussing the uncertainty in illness theory as presented in Joan’s oropharyngeal case.
The uncertainty in illness theory describes the complexities related to determining the meaning of disease-related events. The theory was developed by Merle Mishel, a well-known nursing theorist (Mishel, 1988). The distressing fact of the uncertainty in illness theory applies in the diagnosis phase of an illness. The diagnosis phase is the period when an illness is determined through clinical measures. The distress in the phase is due to the uncertain nature of an illness and the threats that exist due to the selection of a given treatment. It constantly occurs in the diagnosis of chronic illnesses as a doctor has to take risks in determining the effects of a certain approach towards a given ailment. The advantage of the uncertainty in illness theory in the diagnosis of an illness is the fact that the uncertainty decreases over time. Therefore, the theory is mainly involved in defining diagnostic procedures, including clinical determination of an illness and its treatment.
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