Nursing Theory Course Analysis

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

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.

“ It is important for nurses to study the development of nursing theory because without an idea of where you have been, how can you know how, why, when, or where to go “ (Cherry and Jacob, 2014, p.75). Theory leads to research, research leads to science, science leads to practice, and practice then cycles back to theory. New theory emerging from practice will generate new studies that will, in turn, produce new knowledge for practice. All of this contributes to improving nursing practice.

The purpose of the nursing theories is to provide an interrelating framework focusing on the nursing practice. The defined nursing theories promote better patient care, improve the status of nursing profession, and improve the communication between the nurses, and provide guidance to the researches and education (Keefe, 2011). Not all nursing theories have the same meanings; however, they play the important role of explaining the key concepts and principles of nursing practice in understanding way.

The role of the author as a professional nurse, among many will entail: serving, empathizing, advocating, listening, educating and caring for others. Her nursing philosophy is about caring and building trust-worthy relationships with clients. The base for a holistic care and overall well-being of a client is attributed to the relationship and care a nurse builds and provides for their client. This partnership during the caring process is what leads to achieving the goals of the client. The author’s philosophy is built on Watson’s

Nursing theories are organized concepts that guide nursing practice. They are a set of concepts, definitions, relationships, and assumptions with standards borrowed from other related disciplines for the purpose of explaining, and predicting outcomes (Allgood, 2010). In the late 1800s, the nursing profession placed a major emphasis on education. This inspired the development of some of our earliest nursing theorists (CCN, 2015). Many theorists felt it prudent to describe nursing practice by creating nursing guidelines as a foundation for best practice clinical decision making. In the past, the majority of nursing curriculum was medically based and taught by physicians. Nurses were introduced to physiology, anatomy and pathophysiology that allowed accreditation with academic standing (Alligood, 2010). Nursing theory came into being out of the necessity to define what should form the bases of practice by explicitly describing nursing. Nursing theory created a foundation for better patient care, gave accreditation to schools of nursing through research, and established professional nursing boundaries, by highlighting nursing as an evolving profession. These theorists continue to be used today to help guide nursing practice, which has grown into a dynamic modern day system.

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

Prior to this course, this author had only one class during her baccalaureate degree program, which made the author think that nursing theory was confusing and unimportant in nursing practice. With the completion of this course the writer is now more aware that nursing theory is vital to nursing practice. Having completed the course, this author believes that she now has a better understanding of nursing theory. This author is now aware of the use of nursing theories in solving problems and giving the patient the quality care that he or she needs.

My personal definition of nursing is taking care of my patient as a whole; using my knowledge, being compassionate and caring, respectful and honest. Taking care of the; spiritual, physical and emotional aspect of the patient, and taking into consideration their family and environment. Learning about the different theorists I associate myself the most with Hildegard Peplau. Peplau believed that the relationship between the patient and the nurse was focus of attention, rather than the patient only as the unit of attention. (Chitty & Black p.314-315). Using Peplau’s theory my relationship begins with my patients as strangers and I try to

Theories are establish, delineate, and define the profession of nursing. They are the key to setting policies, laws, and regulatory standards. For this reason, theories are altered, expanded, and improved based on current research. It is necessary to be updated on the most recent, accurate, and informative theories. Overtime new theories are developed to benefit the recipients of health care. The current state of health care affairs changes overtime. Theories reflect these issues which are paramount to nurses. There are three major reasons to get abreast of nursing theories.

I will like to take a moment to thank you professor Traci Moxley for your feedbacks and guidelines this semester. I also want to congratulate my classmates for standing firm to the end of this semester. I enjoyed reading your opinions on the various topics and getting an insight into your nursing practice. I wish you all the best as you progress in your education and careers.

In today’s world there are many nursing theories and theorists that not only define the nursing profession, but also are used as the basis to guide a nurse in his or her current practice. Meleis defines nursing theory “as a conceptualization of some aspect of nursing reality communicated for the purpose of describing phenomena, explaining relationships between phenomena, predicting consequences or prescribing nursing care. Nursing theories are reservoirs in which are stored those findings that are related to nursing concepts such as comfort, healing, recovering, mobility, rest, caring, enabling, fatigue, and family care”(Meleis, 2012). Meleis describes that the term

Nursing theories have affected the nursing profession. Nursing is no longer just about tasks and skills, it is about the whole patient. Theorists have developed a range of theories from grand theories to middle theories to practice theories (Mao, 2015). A nurse can take various parts of some or all theories to use in their nursing practice so they can provide diverse approaches to care (Aliakbari, Parvin, Heidari

There are many different nursing theories that are significant to nursing practice, because they help nurses to examine what is already known, and what additional knowledge and skills are required in variety of nursing situations. They provide basis for nursing practice, as well as some additional tools, that help with delivery of better care to patients and caregivers. Finally, nursing theories improve professional status for nurses and provide guidance and direction for research and education (Colley, 2003).

By definition, a nursing theory is “a set of concepts, definitions, relationships, and assumptions or propositions derived from nursing models or from other disciplines and project a purposive, systematic view of phenomena by designing specific inter-relationships among concepts” (Mutha, 2012). To be considered a nursing theory, there must be four components, which include the patient, the environment, health, and nursing. The environmental factors need to be included to ensure the patient and the living environment is comfortable. The health component of a nursing theory is concerning the health of the patient, which should be included in every theory. Additionally, nursing needs to be a part of every nursing theory to show the role that nurses play. Lastly, and the most important of the four, and the main focus of nursing and nursing theories, is the patient.