JOYCE TRAVELBEE

(1926-1973)
CREDENTIALS
●
She was a psychiatric nurse, educator, and a writer
born in 1926.
1956 – completed her BSN degree at Louisiana State
●

University.
1959 – completed her Master of Science Degree in
●

Nursing at Yale University.

●
Died at a relatively young age in 1973 at age 47 while
beginning her doctoral study.
CREDENTIALS
Worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing,
●

Louisiana State University, New Orleans.

●
Became an instructor in psychiatric and mental health nursing in
the Department of Nursing Education at New York University,
Charity Hospital School of Nursing, and University of Mississippi.
1970 – she was named Project Director at Hotel Dieu School of
●

Nursing in New Orleans.

●
She became the Director of Graduate Education at Louisiana
State University until her death.
WORKS
●
She develops the Human-to-Human Relationship Model
presented in her first book Interpersonal Aspects of Nursing
(1966 & 1971).
Her work is also influenced by the philosophy of existentialism.
●

●
She discussed her theory with Victor Frankel (1963), whom she
credits along with Rollo May (1953) for influencing her thinking.
Intervention in Psychiatrics Nursing: Process in One-to-One
●

Relationship (1969) – second book.

 Human-to-Human Relationship
Model

"Every human being suffers because he is a

human being, and suffering is an intrinsic
aspect of the human condition" -Travelbee
(1971)
 Human-to-Human Relationship
Model
●
Nursing is accomplished through relationships
between humans beginning with an original encounter
and then progressing through stages of emerging
identities, developing feelings of empathy and
sympathy until they establish a rapport in the final
stage.
 Human-to-Human Relationship
Model
●
everything the nurse (as a human) said or
did with an ill person (as a human) helped
to fulfill the purpose of nursing.
●
The nurse and the patient are human
beings, relating to each other.
The process is that of interaction
●
 7 Basic Concepts
Suffering
Meaning
Nursing
Hope
Communication
Self-therapy
Targeted intellectual approach by the nurse towards the
patient’s situation
Human-to-Human Relationship
5 Phases
 ORIGINAL ENCOUNTER

First impression by the nurse with the ill

person and vice versa.
 EMERGING IDENTITIES

Nurse and patient perceive each other as a

unique person. Bonds begin to form.
 EMPATHY

The ability to share in the other person’s

experience.
 SYMPATHY

The nurse has the desire to alleviate the

cause of the patient’s illness or suffering.
 SYMPATHY

The nurse has the desire to alleviate the

cause of the patient’s illness or suffering.
 RAPPORT

Nursing interventions are done to relieve or

lessen the patient’s suffering
Nursing Metaparadigms
PERSON
●

–person is defined as a human being

–Both nurses and the patient are human beings.
●
HEALTH
–Health is subjective and objective.
–>subjective health – an individually defined state of
well being in accord with self-appraisal of physical-
emotional-spiritual status.
Nursing Metaparadigms
>objective health – absence of discernible disease, disability of defect as measured by physical examination, laboratory tests and assessment by spiritual director or psychological counselor.

NURSING
●

“to assist an individual, family or community to prevent or cope with the experiences of illness and suffering and, if necessary, to find meaning in these experiences.” - Travelbee, 1966, 1971
●
Nursing Metaparadigms
ENVIRONMENT
●

–Not clearly defined.

–Shedefined human conditions and life experiences
encountered by all men as sufferings, hope, pain, and illness.
–>illness– being unhealthy, but rather explored the human
experience of illness.
–>suffering – a feeling of displeasure
–>pain – subjective and highly individualized.
only the patient knows whether the pain is present and
how it feels.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!