Fitzpatrick (redirected from Fitzpatrick (disambiguation))

Fitzpatrick, Joyce J.,

a nursing theorist who derived her Life Perspective Rhythm Model from Martha Rogers' conceptualization of unitary man. She began publishing in 1970. Fitzpatrick proposes that the process of human development is characterized by rhythms that occur within the context of continuous person-environment interaction. Nursing activity focuses on enhancing the developmental process toward health. Fitzpatrick believes a central concern of nursing science and the nursing profession is the meaning attributed to life as the basic understanding of human existence. The four major concepts in this model are expressed as nursing, person, health, and environment. The person is viewed as a unified open rhythmic system with temporal patterns, consciousness patterns, and motion and perceptual patterns. Health is a human dimension under continuous development, interacting with the environment. It is seen as a heightened awareness of the meaningfulness of life. See also Rogers, Martha E.