Importance of Theory Evelyne Previl Chamberlain College of Nursing Importance of Theory Nursing theory is defined as a group of concepts, philosophy, or ideas that define and guide the nursing practice. In fact, nursing practice is firmly rooted from these concepts that were at times empirical, then abstract, and inferential. Reflecting back to the time of Florence Nightingale who is the pioneer in modern nursing and nursing theory up to the corner of 21st century, it gives an idea of the historical development of nursing theory, the stages of knowledge it has gone through at each point of time and its implications to the nursing practice. Indeed, the stages of development clearly show how far the nursing has come, from a vocational state where knowledge was silent and passed on to received knowledge when knowledge was borrowed from other disciplines. In the same context of searching for nursing identity, the theorists refute the ideas of borrowing theories from other disciplines and come up with theories more relevant to nursing and of different nuances, which allow the development of other knowledge stages like subjective knowledge; procedural knowledge; constructed knowledge; and integrated knowledge that foster education and research as a base for practice. During the late 1970’s and 1980’s, they have been many theories developed in an attempt to guide the nursing practice and give it its own identity. Among these theories, it is
For centuries the development of nursing knowledge has been influenced by numerous theorists and their respective theories. These theories have influenced, and continue to influence, nursing education, practice and research. (Johnson & Webber, 2005)
Theory is an arrangement of thoughts meant to describe something. These thoughts and ideas usually have basic principles that validate the purpose of the proposed theory. Nursing theory is a well thought out scholarly structure of concepts. These concepts are created to help guide nursing practice. They explain the fundamentals of nursing care. Multiple clinical decisions are based upon nursing theories. There are many different types of nursing theories developed primarily by nurses. Nursing theorist’s main goal is to examine nursing practice and explain the working or non-working parts
nurse staffing ensures quality nursing care for patients and can be a challenge for nurse
The nursing profession entails core values and commonalities that link those in the profession. A comprehensive study of the literature identifies key components of the profession as the provision of technical care, defending the vulnerable, taking care of the ill, as well as establishing systems for the delivery of care. Different models have been developed which describes and guides the nursing profession. The two nursing theories: the Theory of Nursing as Caring by Boykin and Schoenhofer and the Transition Theory of Afaf Ibrahim Meleis are constructive theories and serviceable in the nursing field. This paper gives an analysis of two nursing theories, comparing and contrasting their values.
Nursing theory is vital to the nursing profession because it provides a foundation and framework which is reflected in nurses’ caring ideals and practice (William, 2015). Theory provides an understanding of a nurse’s role within the healthcare system. The first nursing theory, formed by Nightingale, was observations of interventions that improved patient outcomes (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2016). Nurses can improve quality of care by implementing theory into their practice (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2016). This paper will discuss the importance of nursing theory, Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not, and the application of this theory in the nurse
The importance of nursing theory to practice of nursing should not be overlooked or underrated. That is because, it’s understanding and application are essential in enhancing patient 's care, improving communication between nurses, providing education’ and guidance in research, (Robert T. Croyle (2005). It is equally important to know that currently, there are many theories that guide the practice of nursing. Two of the most prominent ones will be compared and will form the subject of this this discussion.
Since its establishment as a profession more than a century ago, Nursing has been a source for numerous debates related to its course, methods and development of nursing knowledge. Many nursing definitions and theories have evolved over time. Furthermore it is in a constant process of being redefined.
Florence Nightingale’s vision of nursing in the mid-1800s began an evolution of nursing philosophies and theories that encouraged the progression and development of nursing knowledge, quality of care, and the advancement of nursing from a vocation to an academic discipline and profession (Alligood, 2013, pp. 3-7). As nursing knowledge and theory flourished, it became necessary to structure nursing theories into an integrated system. Jacqueline Fawcett’s proposal of four global nursing concepts “as a nursing metaparadigm served as an organizing structure for existing nursing frame-works and introduced a way of organizing individual theoretical works in a meaningful structure” (Alligood, 2013, p. 4). The four concepts of the metaparadigm of nursing include: person, environment, health, and nursing. By understanding the history of nursing development and the metaparadigm of nursing, one can explore this author’s personal philosophy of nursing in respect to the four concepts of the metaparadigm of nursing.
Nursing theory is relatively new and as such, it continues to evolve as new knowledge is gained. There are numerous theories of nursing, each of which took years to develop and most of which continue to evolve and adapt. There are commonalities between and among the existing theories although each may focus more heavily on different aspects of responsibilities. It has to do with the philosophical foundations for each theory.
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.
“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 theories form the supportive framework on which our patient care relies on (Alejandro, 2017). It is not only the foundation of the nursing discipline but, it defines of we practice. If nurses lack that foundation, new knowledge development within nursing will decline. They are very important for Masters and advanced practice nursing students who are preparing to
Nursing theories are the support of nursing practice today. They are significant to nursing practice, education and scientific research because they help to determine, what is already known, and what additional knowledge and skills are needed. Nurses are usually first exposed to nursing theories during nursing education and further exposure comes from hands on training. The gained knowledge, about nursing theories, through education and training enhances better outcomes for patients and caregivers, allows application of professional boundaries, and assists in decision making. In this paper I will attempt to analyze, in general, the importance of nursing theory to the nursing profession; discuss middle-range theory, furthermore Benner’s
Given that nursing is a hands-on, professional 'practice,' to speak of nursing 'in theory' may at first seem like a contradiction in terms. However, nursing theory is an important tool, offering the practitioner in the field a way to better make decisions. Theory acts as a guide to practice. Of course, in nursing, theory is never subsumed to the specifics of a case. Unlike philosophy or literary theory, no theory can stand apart from the realities of the need to treat a patient effectively. But nursing theory can be helpful in dealing with unexpected situations. Nursing theories consist of "concepts, definitions, models, propositions and are based on assumptions" of deductive and inductive logic (Nursing theories: An overview, 2012, Nursing Theories).
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