The Theory-Practice Relationship in Nursing: the Practitioners' Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast nursing theorists from the four categories which are identified by Meleis as: Needs, Interaction, Outcome and Caring. (Meleis, 2012, Chapter 9) I have chosen Faye Abdellah, Imogene King, Myra Levine and Jean Watson as the grand theorists that I would like to explore for this study in contrast and comparison. This decision was made, in part, due to the fact that all of these theorists were born and educated in the twentieth century and I felt that their theories might be more applicable to my nursing practice. The information contained in the tables was obtained from several sources in an

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 nursing theories assist the nurses to identify the limitations of nursing and advance the development of nursing as a unique profession. The theories help to explain the role of nursing in todays health care sector. It also gives the information on the basics of nursing practice and help to create more information in various aspects of patient care. The benefits of having the theory in nursing compromise the improved patient care, therapeutic communication among nurses, It also helps for the guidance for the research and education.( Application of theory in Nursing process”).Nursing was considered under medicine before the development of theories in nursing. Use of theory gives structure and organization to nursing knowledge. Theories make nursing more purposeful. It not only focuses on practice but also improves the rationale. Nursing theory also give the definitions and clarifications of nursing. It helps to differentiate nursing from other professions; It provides professional limits for practice in nursing. . (McEwen, &. Wills, 2014). Nursing theory helps nurses to clarify, explain and look for incidents in nursing practice. Serve to guide, evaluation and assessment of nursing practice.. It helps in professional communication between, coworkers and patients. It is very useful in doing researches. In the field of education role of nursing theory is very significant. It helps for the development of curricula, and helps in

“The main purpose of the journal is to publish original manuscripts focusing on nursing theory development, nursing theory--guided practice, and quantitative and qualitative research related to existing nursing frameworks” (Ovid, 2008, p. 1).

Creasia, Friberg, J. (2011). Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice (5th ed). Mosby. Retrieved from

The nursing profession has progressed greatly since it roots with Florence Nightingale, moving from reliance upon total medical direction for providing basic care and “the first duty of the nurse it that of obedience-absolute fidelity to his orders, even if the necessity of the prescribed measures is not apparent, you have no responsibility beyond that of faithfully carrying out the directions received” (Jennifer C. Telford), into an autonomous practice with its own nursing theory practices, models, and interventions.

A nurse-patient relationship is the basic requirements in all practice settings. Its usage is to manage communication between an organization and a public while maintaining boundaries in the therapeutic relationship. Based on Peplau’s interpersonal theory, communication takes place in a nurse-client relationship where therapeutic process occurs involving complex factors such as environment, attitudes, practices, and beliefs in the dominant culture (seu.edu, 2015). The actions of each person in a nurse-patient relationship is measured on the collaboration of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Nurse’s work to attain, maintain, and restore the patient’s health until patient have fulfilled the health care needs. Patient must be guided and provided a well-respected environment until a better health and specific needs are fully considered in the relationship. In this kind of setting, nurse’s must create relationship with patients by communicating receptivity, assimilating the concepts of empathy, trust, genuineness, respect, and confidentiality into their interactions.

This course is an introduction to the theoretical and research foundations of advanced nursing practice. Key content to be covered includes the philosophical basis of science and

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.

Theory Application to Nursing Practice: Intuition Through an understanding of each of the outlined theories, intuition seems most applicable to nursing practice. In reflection, nursing students have a minimal but developing level of clinical experience. While intuition is based from past experiences, emotions, and behaviours, another important factor is the perception of the situation; it is the perception or feeling of something being wrong that will instigate intuition (Holm & Severinsson 2016, pp. 412-3).

In the book, Nursing Theorists and Their Work, there are several chapters that discuss seven theorists and their different conceptual models (Alligood, 2014). The conceptual models have been crucial to the profession of nursing. Nursing conceptual models aid in educated decision making by providing different applications in regards to individuals, families, and society (Alligood, 2014). The seven theorists that will be conferred are the following: Myra Levine, Martha Rogers, Dorothea Orem, Imogene King, Betty Neuman, Sister Callista Roy, and Dorothy Johnson (Alligood, 2014). Each theorist has their own conceptual model in relation to the nursing profession.

Nursing theory is the backbone of nursing. It is very important in the application of evidence-based practice (EBP). The functions of a theory are to narrow and provide specific information for the analysis of initially confusing behaviors, situations, and events (Fawcett & Madeya 2013). Moreover, nursing theory helps to improve not only the quality of care that we are providing to our patients but, they also help us make better clinical decisions. As a matter of fact, nursing theory gives the nurse a framework for organizing and analyzing information as well as a base for identifying with their patients throughout the nurse-patient relationship (Schick, 2015). I am very much interested in all the theories. The one that I relate to the most is Hildegard Peplau’s theory. It is a middle range theory that focuses on interpersonal relations. This theory teaches us about how to interact with our patients so that they feel more in control of their treatment. In this paper, I will be talking about the importance of nursing, the summary of Peplau's theory, and how as future nurse practitioners, we can apply it.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction, purpose, and rational for selecting a nursing theory. I will describe the theory by identifying the purpose, concepts/definitions, relationships/structure, and assumptions. I will use the Chinn & Kramer evaluation criteria to critique this chosen theory. Finally I will describe a plan for implementing the theory into my practice setting, identifying any barriers and challenges.

The literature review is titled background. This Background section although not attempting to detail all other research on nursing clinical practice, does nevertheless; establish the study’s place in the spectrum of other nursing clinical practice research. All books and journals sourced in the article are accurately referenced. Unlike many academic articles the authors of this article do not use Harvard Referencing. The authors prefer to use the more recognised scientific and medical referencing approach. This article uses what is known as the Vancouver style referencing. The Vancouver Style, is the numbered referencing style commonly used in medicine and science. This consists of citations in the text, using numbers and a number referencing list at the end of the document. It follows rules established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, now maintained by the US National Library of Medicine. It is also known as uniform manuscript submitted to Biomedical Journals. A number is allocated to a source in the order in which it is cited in the text. If the source is referred to again, the same number is used. References are listed in numerical order in the references in the

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Division of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium