ApplicationofTheory NR501

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).

designed to guide the practice of nursing” (Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing, 2012). Nursing theories can help patients, managers and other healthcare professionals to recognize what and how much that nurses do contribute to the healthcare field. I never did realize how important theories in nursing practice could be until I became a nursing student myself. Nurses use theories in their everyday practice, but never think about them as being

The purpose of the nursing theories is to provide an interrelating framework focusing on the nursing practice. The defined nursing theories promote better patient care, improve the status of nursing profession, and improve the communication between the nurses, and provide guidance to the researches and education (Keefe, 2011). Not all nursing theories have the same meanings; however, they play the important role of explaining the key concepts and principles of nursing practice in understanding way.

Nursing was, for my sixteen year old self, taking care of the sick. Little did I know the complexities of that definition. Still, taking care of the sick was interesting enough to make nursing my major. I started practicing nursing years ago. However, I still struggle defining and explaining my profession to others. I usually start by differentiating nursing from medicine. Nurses see patients as humans rather than a disease that needs treatment (Zaccagnini & White, 2014, p. 15). However, as I advance my career, I must actively incorporate nursing theory into my practice. Nursing theory gives a foundation to understand patients and their health problems better. The use of nursing theory provides a framework to evaluate nurses’ interventions on a higher standard (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). Kenney described five steps to follow once the decision to include nursing theory has being made. This paper will explore the process of applying the Kenney’s five steps into my practice.

According to Walker and Avant (2005), theories provide a way of identifying and expressing key ideas about the essence of practice. Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) and other healthcare professionals incorporate many theories into

Provides a basis for examining theory construction and the role that theory plays in providing the scientific basis for nursing

Theory has so far remained a strategic tool in advanced nursing practice. Firstly, nursing utilizes every feature of management science. Fortunately, the knowledge base of each and every management science takes theory into account. Theory includes methods, principles, and concepts. The principles are usually related, and can be observed and validated or verified when translated into the practice of management. Likewise, concepts are general notions, thoughts, and ideas that tend to form a basis of discussion or action. Therefore, theoretical principles guide clinical nurses to various

Nursing is a unique profession which is built upon theories that guide everyday nursing practice. According to Taylor, Lillis, & Lynn (2015), “Nursing theory differentiates nursing from other disciplines and activities in that it serves the purposes of describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling desired outcomes of nursing care practices” (p. 27). Many nurses may unknowingly apply a theory or a combination thereof, along with critical thinking to get the best outcome for a patient. Theories are used in practice today because they have been supported by research and help the profession uphold its boundaries. Most nursing theories consist of four concepts which are the patient, the environment, health, and nursing. Each patient is at the center of focus and they have the right to determine what care will be given to them using informed

Ida Orlando literally wrote the book on the function of nursing. Her theory of the deliberative nursing process outlines a dynamic nurse-patient relationship in which the nurse uses his or her senses of perception together with deliberate actions to create an individualized care plan for each patient. Results of current research on the application of her theory follow a brief concept analysis and overview. Finally, a case study outlines the application of Orlando's deliberative nursing process.

Nursing theory is the skeleton on which the profession and practice of nursing rests. It is a construct of concepts specific to nursing that shapes and guides nursing practice. Nursing theory can guide nursing practice by giving a particular focus to nursing practice (Algase, 2015). Nursing theory provides the foundation from which from which evidence-based practice arises. It is nursing theory that promotes best nursing practice whether it has to do with scholarship, education, literature, and/or bedside nursing. Further, nursing theory guides nursing practice by providing a wellspring of best scientific information whereby nurses may glean pertinent data in order to critically think, thereby implementing evidence-based practice for positive patient outcomes (Clement, 2015). In the paper, nursing theorist Dr. Betty Neuman and her systems model from the grand theory category will be used for discussion. Dr. Neuman’s theory will be discussed relevant to four different sections in this paper: 1) The importance of nursing theory, 2) Summary of the selected theory, 3) Application of specific nursing theory to selected profession nursing practice area (i.e. Education, Leadership, Informatics, Healthcare Policy, and Nurse Practitioner), and 4) the Conclusion.

Orlando’s fourth concept addressed in her Theory of Nursing is the deliberative nursing process or reflective inquiry. The nurse must initiate a process of investigation and exploration with the patient to ascertain his or her immediate needs. Orlando believed the nursing process was only successful when viewed as two-way, dynamic relationship between nurse and patient. During the exploratory process, the

“Nursing theory aims to describe, predict and explain the phenomenon of nursing” (Colley, 2003, p. 33); therefore, nursing theory is the scaffolding on which nurses stand to build and remodel nursing practice. This is a symbiotic relationship because nursing theory builds the nursing practice and as practice expands the scaffolding must, in turn, grow as well. As such, the investigation into practice and research keep informing the practice and profession of nursing. Ultimately this leads to more effective patient care utilizing evidenced-based

Nursing theory can be traced back to the days of Florence Nightingale, in a time where conditions in field hospitals were austere at best, and life expectancy was nothing like it is today. Nursing theory is considered the basis for the care that we provide today. As medicine is constantly changing, nursing also follows by evaluating theory and implementing change. What is nursing theory? To me, nursing theory is the researched, proven methods of nursing care that allow for us to provide the best nursing care possible for our patients. Yet, nursing theory isn’t just about nursing. As defined in medical dictionary, theory is defined as beliefs or procedures that support a particular action (Medical Dictionary, 2015). Further, it

Nursing is an art and a science (Joel, 2006). Consequently, one nursing theory does not fit every patient’s needs. While nursing theories encompass many different beliefs, policies, and procedures, nurses can utilize some or all of each theory. Furthermore, nursing theory provides nurses with principles and helps generate further nursing knowledge (Alligood, 2014). A thorough understanding of our past and present theorists and theories enhances our own practice and improves patient outcomes (Alligood, 2014). To gain a better understanding of four nursing theorists and Florence Nightingale, the main concepts of nursing theories will be examined, critiqued, and summarized while reflecting on personal beliefs and experiences related to each theory.

This section presents an analysis of Orlando’s theory. The central thesis of the Theory of the Deliberative Nursing Process is finding out and meeting the patient’s immediate need for help. The concepts and propositions of the theory are written at a concrete level of discussion (Fawcett, & Desanto-Madeya, 2013). The theory is classified as a middle-range predicative theory. The theory identifies the effects of a specific interpersonal nursing process on identification of the patient’s immediate need for help.