Nursing A Concept Analysis Paper

Concepts are essential elements in theories which provide ideas for research in nursing. Concepts give knowledge that can be applied to nursing practice, education and administration. (Parker & Smith 2010). Concept analysis brings about clarity. The methods of concept analysis have the following steps. Select the concepts, determine the purpose of the anaysis, identify all uses, define attributes, a model case of the concept, consequences of the concept, and define empirical references of the concept (Walker & Avant 1995)

The purpose of this paper is to create a concept analysis and identify a nursing concept that is within a nursing theory. A concept analysis is a process where concepts and their characteristics are researched and clarified. The eight steps on conducting a concept analysis include selection of a concept used in a nursing theory, identification of the aims or purposes of the analysis, identification of possible use of the selected concept, determination of defining attributes, identification of model cases, identification of antecedents and consequences, and lastly definition of empirical referents (Walker & Avant, 2011). The nursing concept selected for this paper is “empowerment” within the nursing profession. The nursing theory from which the empowerment concept was obtained is Kanter’s Theory on Structural Empowerment. In order to empower someone, an individual needs the tools and resources to feel powered. According to Laschinger, Gilbert, Smith, & Leslie (2010), Kanter defines power as the ability to mobilize information, resources and support to get things done in an organization. The role of management is to provide employees with power tools that empower them to maximize their ability to accomplish their work in a meaningful way. Kanter goes on to describe two primary empowerment structures in organizations, first being the structure of opportunity and second the structure of power. The structure of opportunity relates to job conditions that provide

Theory development stems from personal experiences, intuition, and knowledge of the theorist (Burns et al., 2013). When a scholar develops a theory, it has to be tested through research. The findings of the study are then presented to experts in the area of academics and the field of practice (Burns et al., 2013). The presentation of the findings allows experts to provide constructive criticism, highlight the pros and cons of the theory, and acknowledge whether or not the theory can be accepted as a guide to practice. This theory evaluation paper will give the reader a theory description, theory analysis, and an assessment of Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit theory of nursing (Alligood et al., 2010).

Theory is an attempt to explain the world around us. It is defined as a set of concepts, definitions, and propositions that projects a view of phenomena by designating specific interrelationships among concepts for purposes of describing, explaining and predicting phenomena. In the world of healthcare the nurse through the understanding of theories attempt to explain why nurses do what they do. Nursing theories are the creative products of nurses who seek to thoughtfully describe relationships and interactions that exist within nursing practice (Ingram, 2009).

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), specifically those involving multi-drug resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as well as higher cost of healthcare and longer length of hospital stays for patients. Each year, millions of people acquire infections while receiving care, treatment, and services in hospitals and other health care organizations.

I can remember serving in the Air Force as a nurse and working with the chief of nursing. During my training period, things just seemed so difficult and hard for me to grasp under such a stressful environment. The chief of medical was very detail oriented and she would always pushed us to think outside of the box. We would go through different mock code scenarios as if we were out in the battlefield for two weeks. If we did not respond to the level of her expectations, she would make us redo the mock code scenario over again. There were many days in which we felt frustrated, giving up and crying. In the end, we realized that the chief of nursing was just trying to build our character, instill confidence and prepare us for future of being in a war zone.

Concepts are terms for phenomena that can happen in nature or in thought. Concept analysis should have a purpose. A concept may be comparatively a summary and created with an aim. Walker and Avant’s (2011) concept analysis outline is used to measure the job satisfaction of nursing in a hospital based setting. Job satisfaction plays a major role to nurses because it can impact on their work performance and determines patient care. A nurse’s personality also influences job satisfaction. Job satisfaction impacts an

The activities include physical and occupational therapy, nutrition counseling, and case management ("Community Health Nursing," 2013).

It is evident that nursing theorists, scholars and health care professions have varying interpretations of what caring is or should be. In the middle of all these disparity, caring is a vital component of the nursing practice and the key to choosing the concept of caring is because it is very essential when it comes to health care. This paper tries to make clear the concept of caring in the field of nursing and it makes use of the Walker and Avant outline to support the concept. It starts with recognizing the concept and its functions. It then identifies three emerging attributes of caring will be identified and a description of each will be given. At last, the paper will recognize antecedents, the effects or consequences and

One nursing theory that has influenced my values and goals as a nurse is Jean Watsons Theory of human caring: Transpersonal Caring as the Fulcrum. Watson believed every person needs an interconnection with others and caring promotes this need. Through caring, a nurse can help the patient have balance and harmony of mind, body, and soul (Cherry & Jacob, 2014).

In recent years there has been a movement in nursing to further understand the many terms (concepts) that are used. Concepts in nursing often seem vague or appear to have ambiguous meanings. For the purpose of this paper, we will take a deeper look at one specific concept, emotional intelligence, and examine a peer reviewed article that utilizes the Walker and Avant method to deconstruct the meaning. Emotional intelligence is asks the nurse to look at their own feelings and the feelings of others to achieve a successful nurse-patient interaction. Lastly, this paper will show how emotional intelligence can be applied in practice.

McHugh, M. D., Kutney-Lee, A., Cimiotti, J. P., Sloane, D. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2011). Nurses’

The concept should be clear and distinct, unambiguously defined and well differentiated from other concepts, and should be applicable to the world and appropriate in context. Concept analysis is applied for the refinement and definition of concepts originating from nursing practice, nursing research and nursing theory (Maputle & Donavon, 2013), which helps to differentiate between similar and dissimilar concepts. Walker and Avant assert that concept analysis and development are fundamental processes required by nurse researchers who are attempting to measure the metaphysical phenomena of nursing, or in this study the midwifery practice.

In theory development literature, concepts are the building blocks from which one constructs theories. Concepts are the fundamental building blocks for any scientific knowledge in any field, and the purpose of any concept analysis is to spell out the implication of a given concept of interest using a given approach or methodology (Meleis, 2011). The idea of concept analysis relates to the research blueprint of a philosophical inquiry whose purpose is to carry out research by intellectual analysis in order to spell out meaning.

Concept Analysis refers to the rigorous process of brining clarity to the definition of the concepts used in science. To better understand patients and processes, nurses use concept analysis to explore concepts. The purpose of concept analysis is to clarify, recognize, and define concepts that describe phenomena.