NR 501 Week 2 assignment Importance of theory 1 Essay

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).

Nursing theories have been a fundamental tool used to explain, guide and improve the practice of nursing. Theorists have contributed enormously to the growth of nursing as a profession. The four grand theorists I chose are Virginia Henderson, Peplau, Myra Levine and Jean Watson. These theorists have contributed tremendously in the field of nursing through their theories, and research. One thing the theorists have in common is that they are patient centered. They are all concerned on ways we can improve our responsibility to the patients, their families and the environment. They have different ideas but they are all aiming towards achieving the same goal, which is patient satisfaction and safety. Their differences are in their areas of

quality of patient care, and can be implemented in practice, to provide solutions to nursing

Throughout the development of the nursing profession, nurses have looked for a framework or guidelines to assist them in proper patient care. The development of nursing theories has provided the frameworks and guidelines needed for nurses to care for the patient in a holistic manner. These theories have developed and matured over time and continue to mature and become more patient-centered and closer to the bedside.

At times, the complexity of multiple horizontal priorities in modern healthcare make it necessary to assess different aspects of nursing practice. Using nursing theory and scholarship can help aid a nurse's toolbox as well as keep the nurse current with practice and philosophical ideas. Case histories, for instance, provide a way to examine different aspects of nursing theory with tangible, tactical solutions, as well as points for strategic discussion. Nursing theory provides the tools, and concept analysis helps us understand the way

Using nursing theories in nursing practice is a vital tool in the delivery of health care. The

Defining comfort for different people in the healthcare setting can be rather broad. A nurse’s definition of comfort is usually going to be centered on patient care. A patient’s level of care can involve numerous aspects ranging from physical to emotional comfort. In the 1990’s, Katharine Kolcaba, a renowned professor of nursing theory, began developing the Theory of Comfort in nursing care. She centered her theory on three different forms of comfort: relief, ease, and transcendence. Kolcaba determined that nurses should always strive to achieve comfort for every patient’s outcome, in all three of her theorized forms (2003).

Caring entails the application of professional characteristics coupled with the continuous interrogation of humanistic deals. Jean Watson’s Caring Theory allows the nurse to show compassion and kindness to relieve the patient and patient’s family from suffering and to aid healing and development. The theory empasizes humanistic aspects of nursing im combination with scientific knowledge, so it can also be applied in research to find ways on how to efficiently deliver nursing care in ways that the patient sees acceptable. The theory guides nurses to go beyond the application of technical nursing skills and to show more concern towards the patients subjective situation. Integrating Jean Watson’s Caring Theory into my future nursing practice will allow me to manage my priorities in order to have uninterrupted time with my patients . Doing this will allow me to pay attention to the patients concerns and/or fears when it comes to his or her care. The theory will help me to accept the patient as a unique individual despite their physical appearance or emotional needs. Watson’s theory will remind me that every patient will need my unconditional support and encouragement to facilitate recovery and to improve their quality of life; physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

“Nursing theorists are the men and women in the nursing field who develop models of nursing. Often, they don't set out to develop a nursing theory, instead, they simply want to help improve nursing care for their patients, and the theory develops as a result. Once a method is established as a theory or model of nursing, it is integrated into the practice of nursing, as well as added to the study of nursing.”

Theories are establish, delineate, and define the profession of nursing. They are the key to setting policies, laws, and regulatory standards. For this reason, theories are altered, expanded, and improved based on current research. It is necessary to be updated on the most recent, accurate, and informative theories. Overtime new theories are developed to benefit the recipients of health care. The current state of health care affairs changes overtime. Theories reflect these issues which are paramount to nurses. There are three major reasons to get abreast of nursing theories.

While reflecting on the type of theory that is most applicable in the 21st century, it is necessary to first understand the types of theories that exist and their purpose. Nursing theory’s purpose is to describe phenomena, explain relationships between phenomena, and predict consequences or prescribe nursing care (Meleis, 2012, p. 29). In order to do this, three domains of theory have been developed: grand theories, mid-range theories, and situation-specific theories. The purpose of this paper is to then give a brief overview of these theories, and provide a solid backing on which type of theory is most applicable to the 21st century.

A theoretical framework is helpful when conducting a study to increase the theoretical ideas and it demonstrates a part of reality that helps make sense of a difficult phenomena. Theory offers a better understating to nursing care in particular situations and provides a different lens for seeing a problem, permitting it to be studied from different perspectives for the complete understanding of all aspects (Connelly, 2014). According to Fitzpatrick&McCarthy (2014), nursing knowledge has developed from general theoretical propositional statements to precisely testable hypotheses. Applying a nursing theory is an important aspect of conducting a study and support to this recognition of nursing excellence. One nursing theorist I incorporated to

Nursing theory profoundly affects the practice of nursing in a multitude of ways. It is nursing theory that simultaneously validates nursing as a profession, and differentiates it from other medical professions. Nursing theory facilitates the growth of nursing knowledge by providing a structure for communicating principles and key ideas to support nursing practice. Across all aspects of nursing, theory provides a tool than can be used as a guide for problem solving, to simplify decision making, as well as providing a method for categorizing and comprehending patient data (Matney, Avant, & Staggers, 2015). In addition to direct patient care situations, nursing theory can be applied to resolve nursing challenges in education and research,

In today’s world there are many nursing theories and theorists that not only define the nursing profession, but also are used as the basis to guide a nurse in his or her current practice. Meleis defines nursing theory “as a conceptualization of some aspect of nursing reality communicated for the purpose of describing phenomena, explaining relationships between phenomena, predicting consequences or prescribing nursing care. Nursing theories are reservoirs in which are stored those findings that are related to nursing concepts such as comfort, healing, recovering, mobility, rest, caring, enabling, fatigue, and family care”(Meleis, 2012). Meleis describes that the term

Nursing theories are views and beliefs developed by nurses. Nursing care uses these models in everyday practice. Over the years many nurses have created a solid base of information for nurses to practice by. These women influenced nursing still to this day. All have set the basis for our understanding and comprehension of nursing care. “The nursing theory process consists of six elements; Assessment, Nursing Diagnose, Outcome, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation” (George, p.226). Every patient goes through steps of nursing processes, no matter which model is used. Nurses ensure the highest quality of care when the steps are followed.