1. Introduction
Nursing theory is the key factor to guide nursing practice to the optimal standards and it is considered the building blocks for rightful clinical application as it promotes evidence-based practice. The theoretical perspective fosters nursing towards positive development. This disquisition will discuss one of the major theories and how it guides clinical practice, development of own personal theories and its impact and overall the significance of nursing theoretical perspective while practicing nursing care.
2. Major theoretical perspective
Since the era of Florence Nightingale till date, various theories, meta-paradigm, model have been developed by various pioneers, specifically in the 1960s a lot of theories were published
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Personal Theory of nursing
It is very likely that nurses or student nurses working in the clinical setting will either go along with the taught theories in their academic years or will find the lacking of existing theories and include their own point of view. Due to the fact that nursing is flourishing widely and the people that come in contact with nurses are from wide range of background one theoretical perspective might not be applicable to all the clients.
3.1 Health
The definition of health is highly influenced by various theories and experience, as Neuman, 2002 stated health as an optimal balance between wellness to illness continuity. Likewise, Roy, 2009 defines health as a status and ability to reflect as an individual and surrounding together. Similarly, Health can be defined not only as a tranquility state maintained in the mind and the body but also the ability to progress toward optimal wellness by interventions such as lifestyle modification, regular screening,
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3.3 Person
All individual that requires the nursing care and intervention either to uplift their health to optimal level or to recover from illness and be back to health.
3.4 Environment
All the components of the surrounding that influences the health of an individual is called environment.
4. Development of personal theory
5. Importance and applicability of theory-guided nursing in general practice
There are a lot of well documented positive outcomes of formulating and utilizing the nursing philosophies as it also helps in the development of nursing models to work efficiently. However, Eraut, 2004 states that it is difficult to incorporate theory learned during academic years into clinical practice during professional years especially due to diversity in backgrounds, ways of learning and culture. Butts & Lundy, 2003; Sellers, 2002 observes that students have a hard time to establish the link between nursing theories and practice due to lack of experience which makes the mentor’s job more challenging.
6. Importance and applicability of theory-guided nursing in own
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)
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
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
Every individual typically holds a personal philosophy about life which includes beliefs and values that help shape our choices and lead us to specific life path or in a certain direction. Very similarly every nurse has a philosophy about nursing and their career. Every nurse has guidelines that they choose to follow and motives for why certain choices are made. In order to develop a philosophy of nursing a nurse must reflect on the characteristics that they abide by and by which they base their nursing care. A nursing philosophy defines the motives behind why the nurse puts their heart and soul into their career. A personal nursing philosophy produces an individual viewpoint for nursing care, research, and education (Hood, 2014). In order to have a personal philosophy or a nursing philosophy, a nurse needs to understand themselves. Not one philosophy is permanent, right, or wrong and a personal philosophy is subject to change at any time (Hood, 2014).
The profession of nursing has, in recent years, been trying to further develop, test and use proposed nursing theory. To utilize theory appropriately, in all domains of practice, education and research, it is important to know how to describe, analyze and evaluate
The development of a philosophy related to the profession of nursing is important in that it provides a framework for the nurse to base his/her work on. Philosophy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means”. In other words, philosophies are based on beliefs and assumptions with an overall goal of obtaining an objective which states the nurse’s purpose in the profession. In my undergraduate nursing program I was exposed to multiple nursing concepts that guided my practice. Coupled with my ten years of experience in the nursing field, I was enabled to formulate my own framework or guide to nursing. The paradigm which resonates with me the most is the interactive-integrative perspective as it views practice “as having multiple, interrelated parts in relation to a specific context.” (Newman, Sime, & Corcoran-Perry, 1991, p.38). My framework includes three main components: the client, the professional nurse, and the nurse-client relationship.
I have read and utilized some of the following theories from some classic nursing theorists
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
As a nurse you have to care about the patient, their health, using holistic care, and the environment. The patient is the person that comes to you for health care due to them being ill or wanting information on how to improve their health. Patients are the nurse’s main priority and their goal is to make the person feel great again. To do this, nurses care about their health and well-being. Health is your body working at it’s greatest potential. You can obtain good health by taking care of your body, eating well, exercising, and practicing a healthy lifestyle. While caring
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
The idea of comfort and theory started to develop as early 1859, with Florence Nightingale. This inspiration continued to progress with other theorists such as Ida Jean Orlando and Virginia Henderson. Katherine Kolcaba is a newer middle range theorist. She
The credibility of a profession is based upon its ability to create and apply theory. Nursing as a whole has not been at the forefront of theoretical research being much more practical or hands-on in nature. Unless nurses increase the value placed on research and the body of knowledge that establishes the legitimacy of their practice then nursing will remain in a subordinate position in the medical environment. Theorists anticipated that by conceptualizing models of nursing, practitioners would be able to become more autonomous in their clinical settings while increasing the visibility and authority of nursing as a discipline. It
“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 science provides the basis for professional nursing practice. Nursing theories provide the critical thinking structures to direct the clinical decision- making process of professional nursing practice. The relationship between theory, research, and practice is circular in nature. As new knowledge and discoveries emerge in each of these realms, the cutting edge of the art and science of the discipline of nursing evolves.