7 Nursing Theorist

The caring, supportive, sympathetic features of nursing, is immeasurable. Theories are essential to have. They provide a description of what nurses do and give meaning and purpose. When nursing theories are developed this new knowledge can greatly impact the future of nursing practice (McCrae, 2012).

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast nursing theorists from the four categories which are identified by Meleis as: Needs, Interaction, Outcome and Caring. (Meleis, 2012, Chapter 9) I have chosen Faye Abdellah, Imogene King, Myra Levine and Jean Watson as the grand theorists that I would like to explore for this study in contrast and comparison. This decision was made, in part, due to the fact that all of these theorists were born and educated in the twentieth century and I felt that their theories might be more applicable to my nursing practice. The information contained in the tables was obtained from several sources in an

70). This definition begins a departure from the Logical Positivistic Received View, in that it does not emphasize the structure of the theory. According to Meleis (1985) this definition of theory exemplifies the multiple usageof theory, an important issue in dealing with nursing practice, research, education and administration. The definition for use here is one adapted from Meleis (1985) and states that a nursing theory is a conceptualization of phenomena and relationships in or pertaining to nursing for the purpose of describing, explaining, predicting and/or prescribing nursing care. Many of the definitions of nursing theory proposed in the 1960s and ’70s derived their definitions from psychology and the social sciences.Nursing theories, according to Meleis (1985) “evolve from extant nursing reality as seenthrough the mind of a theorist who is influenced by certain historical and philosophical processesor events” (p. 29). Theory is not only a tool for the development of research propositions but is also a goal, in which findings becomemore meaningful (Meleis, 1985). One problem in nursing has been the lack of agreement on the definition of theory. Many authors have used the term theory as interchangeable with such terms as conceptual framework, conceptual model, model, and paradigm. Fawcett (1989) clearly states that “conceptual models and theories are clearly distinguished by their

The universal portion of Orem’s theory consists of the self care that a patient needs to meet their physiologic and psychosocial need. The developmental portion of the theory covers the care when coping through developmental stages, and the health deviation, which cover the care a patient need when theory health has

So many nursing theorists have contributed great ideas to the field of nursing. Some of these theories are reflective of my personal philosophy of nursing and I shall uphold these values throughout my studies

Nursing has developed into a profession, in which many theories have been developed and presented in order to lend guidance for purposeful and meaningful practice. In general, nursing theories are based on four concepts that collectively make up the nursing metaparadigm: person, environment, health, and nursing. These four concepts represent a commonality in the nursing profession (Tourville & Ingalls, 2003). This paper will

Theories or conceptual frameworks are a group of abstract ideas composed to explain some phenomena in nursing. It is difficult to reference any other theorist without giving recognition to Florence Nightingale, who introduced a paradigm shift the in the profession of nursing. In short, her Environmental Theory proposed that patients need a clean environment along with other simple actions to promote healing. Nightingale’s intellect was revolutionary; her framework and others alike are the foundation of the nursing profession and were developed to guide nursing practice today. Like Florence Nightingale; Imogene King, also a nursing theorist, helped shape standards in nursing education and practice. The

Parker, M. E., & Smith, M. C. (2010). Nursing theories & nursing practice (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Co.

Developing a nursing philosophy is important to a nurse as it serves as a guide and is the foundation for personal nursing practice. Following a personal nursing philosophy can enhance your nursing career, make you a better nurse and improve patient outcomes. However, it is difficult to choose one nursing theorist, as there are viewpoints from several theorists that align with my personal theories. Choosing one theory is not only difficult, it is possible to change a theory during your nursing career or draw from various theories while working with patients and their families depending on the situation. Consequently, nurses are taught the foundation of multiple theorist and there does not seem to be one correct model. It is a matter of finding one that fits your

Fawcett, J, (1984) Analysis and evaluation of conceptual models of nursing, F. A Davis Company, Philadelphia.

Theory is a cluster of concept or ideas that propose a view concerning a phenomenon to guide nursing practice (Chitty, 2005). The four concepts basic to nursing that are incorporated in this paper are nursing, person, health, and environment (Cherry & Jacob, 2005). The goal of this paper is to describe the core concept of nursing shared amongst Dorothea Orem and Virginia Henderson’s theories. The comparison and analysis of concept definitions between these two theories will also examined. Finally Henderson’s theory of concept statement, metaparadigm and her philosophy will be explored.

PART 1 What is nursing theory? How does nursing theory differ from theories of other disciplines? How does nursing theory relate to nursing practice?

Nursing theories are critical for education and practice. The theories suppose to provide a foundation for general knowledge and assist in practice. Thus, healthcare professionals, managers, and patients recognize the unique healthcare service. However, nursing theories have been mystifying and confusing to use for nursing practice. Colley, S. (2003) argued that nursing theories bewildered nurses. Nurses were difficult to understand, and difficult to apply in practice (Colley S., 2003). Even though, nursing theories are necessary to decide for future studies in health care service, the no relevant ideas are less meaningful. Thus, theories should be understandable, and the knowledge needs applicable in the practice. Colley, S. (2003) asserted the gap between the nursing theories and the healthcare service has arisen that some nursing theories derived from other disciplines such as psychology and sociology (Colley S., 2003). The applying the knowledge from different disciplines merely diminishes functions of nursing practice. Also, the theory language is ambiguous and vague. Each author used different terminology depends on he/she’s perspective. The unclear language causes nurses neglect the principles. Therefore, nursing theories should provide an accurate and a deep understanding into a distinctiveness of nursing. The nursing theories have to relevance to practice. Thus, the theory and practice related should be clearer, and might be an insight. There is no doubt about

Ernestine Wiedenbach was a nursing leader. She was born on August 18, 1900 in Hamburg, Germany. She moved to New York, United States in 1909. She graduated nursing from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 1925 and certified nurse midwife from maternity center association school nurse-midwife in New York 1946. She began her career as a maternity nursing instructor at Yale faculty in 1952. In 1954 and 1956, she worked as an assistant professor of obstetrics nursing and an associate professor respectively (Sante, 2011).

By outlining the focus and boundaries of the discipline nursing is able to highlight areas of study that are significant to nursing education and practice, all of which can be traced back to the fundamental concepts. These central ideas feature as integral to nursing development and continue to demonstrate their influence by shaping the way nurses learn and do. The concepts of person, health, environment and nursing are all interrelated, as are the concepts put forward by Newman, Smith, Dexheimer-Pharris and Jones (2008), and can be identified as prominent in nursing studies and the development of nursing theories. The nursing theories based on these fundamental concepts serve as the building blocks for all nursing knowledge and as Smith and Parker (2010) explain “the primary purpose of nursing theories is to further the development and understanding of nursing practice” (p. 8). The structure of knowledge as described by Smith and Parker provides a clear example of how nursing metaparadigms have implications for all levels of nursing theory, education and research from the most abstract or global concepts to the more concrete