The Theory Of The Nurse As Wounded Healer By Dr. Marion Conti O ' Hare

Regrettably, the existence of nursing depends on the medical inadequacy of others. Unfortunately, nursing exists because people get hurt, cannot care for themselves, or need assistance with daily activities. Carol Taylor (2011), author of Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care, writes, “Nursing care involves any number of activities, from carrying out complicated technical procedures to something as seemingly as holding a hand” (p. 5). Taylor explains it is the duty of a nurse not only to learn the pertinent skills but also to bond with and comfort others. Nurses have to do and become many things: They must be stern when necessary, compassionate when needed, open minded

In my current role as a nurse educator I feel the desire to pursue my dream of obtaining a master’s degree, specializing in nursing education. It has been 27 years since I have sat in the student chair in a classroom; therefore, I anticipate a number of challenges and barriers to overcome. In this paper I will present and describe three challenges that I expect to be faced with over the next two years. I will also discuss the strategies I plan to use to address these challenges.

On November 1st, 2016 I had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Katherine M. Sawyer RN, BSN of Owosso, Michigan. Katherine, a female nurse who has worked in the nursing field for thirty-six years began her nursing career at Ingham Medical where she was a full-time staff-nurse for three years; then worked as a per-diem staff-nurse for eleven years. After working at Ingham for a total of fourteen years, Katherine obtained a position at Memorial Healthcare in Owosso where she worked as a nurse educator for fifteen years. Shortly after this she became a Basic Life Saving (BLS) instructor as her main role as a nurse educator was to provide nursing orientation and this additional role fit in perfectly. After some time she became involved in Quality Improvement for four years, and she has now switched back to the nurse educator role where she once again has the role of nursing orientation for Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Patient Care Techs (PCTs). The number of staff she teaches and orientates each month varies between one and ten individuals. She also teaches BLS and First Aid at Baker College of Owosso. Her contact information is as follows: Phone number (989) 413-1974 and e-mail address kmsawyer521@gmail.com. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of Sawyer’s role in the nursing profession as a nurse leader. Individuals will learn of Sawyer’s many different roles, responsibilities, and the organizational structure of Memorial

The beginning of a new graduate nurses career rarely begins easily, there seems to be a distinct disconnect between the fantasy of what it means to be a nurse and the reality of bedside nursing. Nursing school seems to feed into this disconnection, in that it does not prepare the new graduate registered nurse (NGRN) for their professional practice. What nursing school does is give the NGRN the basics, a peak into what is to come. The NGRN has to find out for themselves what the true meaning of being a nurse is and if it fits their preconceived ideas.

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.

To demonstrate understanding of how theories relate to and inform nursing is part of what it means to be an Advanced Practice Nurse. Analysis of how nursing theories inform one’s own practice is not only a way to identify responsibilities and opportunities as a nursing leader, it is also a means to build disciplinary knowledge. As Chinn and Kramer explain, “Once nursing practice is described, it is made visible… [this] imparts value to what has been intangible (2008, p. 23). By describing my personal clinical practice area, and providing an analysis of how nursing presence, interpersonal relations and caring theories can be utilized, I will attempt to accomplish all of the above.

Background - The modern nurse has a rewarding, but extra challenging, career. The role of the 21st century nurse is not limited to assisting physicians, but to be more of a partner with both the doctor and patient as an advocate, teacher, researcher, counselor, case manager, and of course, caregiver. Because of the complexities of the marketplace, HMOs, governmental structure, rising costs, lack of adequate staff and support, the nurse must rely on a number of tools in order to be effective and successful. The nurse must have the ability to analyze materials from other nurses and scholars, and must remain current with both scholarship and practice. It is therefore advantageous for the nurse to have access to understanding many of the theoretical templates that nursing scholarship has to offer. While unlikely that a nurse will utilize only one theoretical view, the more robust the toolbox, the better the nurse will be able to handle difficult situations (Kozier, Erb and Blais, 1997).

Nursing school experience varies for every person attending. Each person has different learning style and how they interpret information. The nursing program of Evergreen Valley College was an experience that was difficult, eye opening and a rewarding experience. Nursing school in Evergreen was not your ordinary type of college education because it requires constant adapting, evolving of skills, and improvement in knowledge. During the next two years of the program students will be adapting the schools theme of the “Client Needs Model,” a comprehensive framework for identifying nursing actions and competencies necessary for client care in a variety of settings and throughout the life span. Students will start from basics such as learning how to clean/ wash/ bathe patients to learning what to do in critical situations. As everyone needs to start somewhere, in first semester is where basics and fundamentals are being taught. Students learn how to communicate, assess primary needs and learn to do their head to toe assessment. During the second semester is when students begin to learn some pathophysiology of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Students will learn which interventions are acceptable for each symptoms using the nursing process. During this semester is also when students learn how to deal with pregnant patients and newborns. With the education they have received they will be able to learn to

Nursing is a practice that has been described as a science an art. It has many definitions and many philosophies that guide its practice. Nursing lacks a singular, definitive theory or philosophy. Individual develop their own philosophies and theories based on their values, beliefs and professional identities. As registered nurses that are seeking to advance our education and become professional nurses, defined as a registered nurse with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN), we need to be able to describe our current professional identities. We need to

In reality, everyone has a set of beliefs and ideals about the nature of how things work and how things should be viewed. This personal philosophy of life is unique for everyone, interrelates directly with their philosophies of nursing. It happens that these beliefs and ideals are very imperative for nursing practices, and are serving as a guidance and directions for the day to day processes of nursing and influence professional behaviors as well. As a nurse, I have established my own ideas about nursing and will continue to develop its base on education, experience, and reading. Unintentionally, those beliefs are examined and clarified by nursing theories and models. Models are said to depict an organizational structure of nursing phenomenon than philosophy, whereas theories are the actual description of a concept as well as forecasting an outcome (Chitty & Black, 2011). Butts and Rich (2015) defined nursing philosophy as “some ideas and thoughts about nursing and are used as a basis for thinking and acting”. The use of nursing philosophies and theories are the building block for nursing practice, which ensures that nursing knowledge is used in the clinical settings. The purpose of this paper is to describe the author’s personal and professional philosophy of nursing and how it relates to the four

A typical nursing philosophy includes the concepts of patient, environment, health and nursing. Likewise, examining theory is part of the doctoral prepared nurse’s journey into practice. In this preparation, theory plays an important role in guiding and exploring the advanced practice nurse’s role with respect to practice. The following paper will discuss a personal nursing philosophy, including if and how it has changed over the course of this class, an application of a theory to practice, and how that theory will be utilized in practice.

The target audience of this project are fifth semester nursing students of the Minnesota Alliance for Nursing Program at Inver Hills community College. This group of learners will be meeting the benchmark eligibility for the National Council Licensure Examination for RNs (NCLEX-RN/licensure) at the end of the semester as they complete their Associate of Science in nursing degree. The cohort contains an interesting mix of individuals at different ages across the lifespan, varying experience in the medical field as well as others who have already attained an associate/bachelor degree in other fields. In addition, a third of the cohort is moving on to Metro State University to complete the MANE BSN program, one third is seeking a more flexible BSN program, while others are planning on taking a semester off before completing their BSN.

When I first started this course, I was not aware of the importance of theories in nursing practice. I have questioned myself, is theory is really important in nursing? In the first week, I have learned that theories are important in nursing to improve nursing knowledge and guide the nursing practice. During this week I have also learned about Florence Nightingale’s Environment theory and its impact in nursing practice. Learning about the historical phases of nursing was very motivating as it gave a depth knowledge about the different stages of theory development. The review of the historical phase brought the knowledge that professionalization of the nursing progressed by the development and use of nursing theory. By understanding the foundation and accomplishment of nursing, I was able to set my professional goal.

Nursing theory is essential to the profession as it specifies a construct for decisions and practice for the discipline of nursing. It distinguishes what shapes the foundation of practice by plainly illustrating

Through out the course, we have explored many different concepts and theories that formulates and constructs to the phenomenon of what it truly means to be a nurse. I’ve come to the realization, how crucial conducting research and developing theories are in the advancement of nursing practice. As a nursing student, many different theories have helped enhance my critical thinking, self-awareness, challenged me to be open-minded. Moreover, it as influenced me to care for the biopsychosocial being of the client. According to Peisachovich, (2016) reflection-beyond-action permits professionals with the capability and understanding to “view practice as a holistic approach to care” (p.10). As I reflect on my previous nursing theory and everything that I have encountered this semester, many thoughts, feelings, values have changed as I take a unitary approach to nursing.