Theories Of Nursing Metaparadigm

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

Theories are a series of interconnected proposals. Theories are an effort to describe, explain, predict, and finally control a period of events. We are able to base our experiments and select the contenders for the experiments off of our theories. We are able to test our theories by how well the cumulated data describes, relates to and predicts reality. Theories act as patterns for interpreting specific data that we may refer back to. These patterns ensure we stay on topic and are able to obtain the proper results needed to verify our theories.

Since 1970s, person, nursing, health, and environment are considered as the core concepts of nursing theories by many nursing theorists.

A theory is a set of systematic informed hunches about the way things work. A good theory goes beyond accepted wisdom and offers explanations and speculations about phenomena. Additionally, a good theory consists of a system of concepts which means that the theorist were able to make connections among his ideas. A theory tends to shape our perception of reality and behaviour and guides us through unknown areas.

Personal theory and philosophies are important for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to help care for patients and their career. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2010) an “APRNs are registered nurses (RN) who have acquired advanced specialized clinical knowledge and skills to provide health care” (p. 112). APRN is a general term used to describe certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, and nurse practitioners (NP) (ANA, 2010). For the purpose of this paper and my personal theory and philosophy, I will focus on the NP as the APRN. NPs are able to perform comprehensive assessments and promote health and prevention of illness and injuries (ANA, 2010). The ANA’s concepts of health promotion and disease prevention have helped shape my personal theory and aided in identifying a theory for my future practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). The best theory to guide my practice will be Nola J. Pender’s health promotion model (HPM). By using Pender’s HPM, it will allow me to identify each patient as an individual with different needs for health promotion and disease management.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss my personal beliefs pertaining to the profession of nursing. As well I will discuss the (4) metaparadigms in nursing which are known as; human beings, environment, health, and nursing, and my personal beliefs on these concepts and how they have similarities to the nursing philosophy of a nursing theorist.

The two theories that have helped to form my personal perspective on nursing are Erickson; and Rogers. Helen Erickson’s model is based on caring for an individual patient based on their own unique needs and perspective (Nursing Theories and Models, 2017). Erickson’s model took concepts from several other theorists such as Maslow, Padget, Seyle, and Lazarus and combined them to create a nursing model that takes care of each individual patient based on their needs ( Reed, 2017). This theory helps me to be more cognizant of the individual needs of my patient, not all patients regardless of disease process are the same. Each patient may have different underlying factors or circumstances that affect their health and current situation. Rogers’ theory is broader, viewing nursing as both an art and science, promoting health and wellbeing to patients regardless of where they are (Nursing Theories and Models, 2017). The science of nursing involves the knowledge and research of nursing, and the art is applying that science for the betterment of the patient. This theory views an individual as part

Meleis (2012) further classifies theories into distinct categories: grand theories, middle-range theories, and situation specific theories. Grand theories consist of the construction and synthesis of knowledge; which includes the mission of nursing, and the goals in nursing practice (Meleis, 2012). Grand theories are broad in range and consist of a framework for which to practice. Grand theories can be applied to all aspects of nursing and patient care. An example of a grand theory would be Dorothea Orem’s’ Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory. The central aspect of this theory is that all humans want to thrive and care for themselves (Nursing theory.org n.d.). Middle-range theories have a more limited scope. The notable difference between grand theories and middle-range theories is that middle-range theories are based on scientific and empirical evidence (Meleis, 2012). An example of a middle-range theory is the theory or discussion of quality of life (Meleis, 2012). The final theory classification is

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

Throughout the history of nursing, there have been many nursing theorists who have each made significant contributions towards the shaping of nursing knowledge. Each of these theorists have differing perspectives and interpretations of how each domain of the nursing metaparadigm fit into their respective theories. The four domains of the nursing metaparadigm are: person, environment, health and illness, and nursing. The purpose of this reflection is to provide an overview of the domains related to the metaparadigm of nursing as well as to introduce this author’s perspective on their developing personal philosophy of nursing. In this paper, the author will take a closer look at each of these areas, how they are individually defined, and how they each fit into the nursing metaparadigm as a whole. At the conclusion of this overview, readers will be introduced to how these theorists and their perspectives have enabled this author to begin to create their own philosophy of nursing.

According to Polit and Hungler (1997) paradigm is a "way of looking at natural phenomena that encompasses a set of philosophical assumptions and that guides one's approach to inquiry" (pg. 463). Metaparadigm, on the other hand, "is a statement or group of statements identifying its relevant phenomena" (Fawcett, 1984, pg. 84).

The purpose of this reflective paper is to explain what the five metaparadigm concepts mean, to write down my own definition of each metaparadigm and further to explain them by providing clinical examples of each definition from my nursing clinical practice.

Moore, (Moore, 2008) reported a nursing metaparadigm of four basic concepts: "person, health, environment, and nursing." Another author suggested the core

The discipline of nursing is characterized into four metaparadigm concepts. The first concept is person. I believe that nursing requires me to think of each person as an individual and take time to be with that person using human-to-human interaction. Working in the emergency room I try my best to listen to each patient with proper eye contact to provide the visual cues of compassion. The second is environment. My nursing philosophy also incorporates all of the patient’s surroundings and their situation that may be causing an illness or a nursing need. It could be the people

By outlining the focus and boundaries of the discipline nursing is able to highlight areas of study that are significant to nursing education and practice, all of which can be traced back to the fundamental concepts. These central ideas feature as integral to nursing development and continue to demonstrate their influence by shaping the way nurses learn and do. The concepts of person, health, environment and nursing are all interrelated, as are the concepts put forward by Newman, Smith, Dexheimer-Pharris and Jones (2008), and can be identified as prominent in nursing studies and the development of nursing theories. The nursing theories based on these fundamental concepts serve as the building blocks for all nursing knowledge and as Smith and Parker (2010) explain “the primary purpose of nursing theories is to further the development and understanding of nursing practice” (p. 8). The structure of knowledge as described by Smith and Parker provides a clear example of how nursing metaparadigms have implications for all levels of nursing theory, education and research from the most abstract or global concepts to the more concrete