Nursing Theory in Practice

Nursing Theory in Practice

Nurse practitioners encounter diverse patients and care settings that implore them to base their actions and decisions on nursing theories and worldviews. Patient care entails application of principles and evidence-based practice interventions to attain quality care outcomes (Alisher et al., 2017). The essence of this paper is to describe the importance of applying nursing theory in practice when providing care to patients. The paper also describes a nursing theory that best reflects my personal view of the essence of nursing and its effects on planning and provision of care to my patients.

Purpose of Applying Nursing Theory to Patient Care

Nursing is a distinct professional discipline shaped by its concepts and practices framed through nursing theory. Nursing theories are unique organized, knowledge-based models that essentially define the scope of nursing practice that includes what constitutes nursing, tasks that nurses undertake, and reasons for the tasks in place. Theories are essential to the nursing profession since they offer a foundational knowledge of care concepts that allows nurses to explain what they do for patients and reasons behind each and every action and course of treatment (Pokorny, 2018). The implication is that a nursing theory is essential to patient care as it allows nurses to articulate evidence to justify the approaches behind their practice.

The application of nursing theory to patient care demonstrates that nurses understand the effect of each action and every course of treatment intervention. Nursing theory assists patients to know different approaches to their conditions and how they can improve concepts like self-care and management (Alisher et al., 2017). For instance, Orem’s self-care theory is a nursing approach that implores patients to take control and not just to

wait for a disease or illness to dictate what they should do. Patients should take control by executing self-care activities like physical exercise, having balanced diet, seeking medical reviews, and attaining health knowledge about diseases and infections, and even monitoring body aspects like blood sugar levels.  The implication is that applying nursing theory to patient care provides benefits to patients, nurses, and the entire health system as it allows each stakeholder to take responsibility and necessary actions and interventions to improve health care at different levels.

Nursing Theory as Meaningful to Current Practice

Before the development of nursing theories, nursing was mainly a task oriented occupation where physicians trained nurses. However, through evolution of the profession, nursing theory serves today as the foundation of nursing training and practice. Nursing theory is an essential component of the healthcare delivery system because of various reasons. Firstly, nursing theory-guided practice assists in enhancing the quality of nursing care as it enables nurses to articulate what they can do for patient and the justification of their actions (Alisher et al., 2017). While more focus is now placed on traditional practice and application of evidence-based practice nursing, theory remains a significant part of attaining the foundation for nurses to apply the two aspects in their practice environment. In their integrative review, Younas and Quennell (2019) found that nursing theories guide the nursing practice while theory-guided practice is more useful than traditional nursing practice.

Thirdly, nursing theory assists nurses to comprehend their purpose, mission and their role in the healthcare system (Pokorny, 2018). For instance, the Nightingale’s environment theory shows that nurses are health care providers and should be considered as primary care providers (Alisher et al., 2017). Orem’s self-care theory shows that nurses are patient educators. Therefore, nursing theories shows that nurses can have different roles, right from care provider to educator, advocate and change agent. Fourthly, nursing theory guides patient care, research, practice and education as well as patient care as demonstrated. Therefore, nursing theory is a core aspect of current practice.

Application of Nursing Theory Before Planning and Care Provision

The use of nursing theory before planning and providing patient care is essential for care management based on its components. Nursing care plan comprises of five stages that include assessment, diagnosis, nursing goals or desired outcomes, nursing intervention, implementation and review or evaluation. Through these steps, nurses can plan and manage patient care adequately and in a holistic manner (Gença & Uslu, 2020). Nurses can use an appropriate theory to develop a practical plan and interventions to offer holistic care while leveraging on aspects like patient-centered care and evidence-based practice. For instance, Orem’s nursing theory is essential in helping patients gradually attain independence and regain their abilities.

Theory Reflecting My Personal View about Nursing

My world view revolves around love, kindness and truth. I believe that through these values, I should treat other like I would like to be treated. Love implores nurses to consider patients from diverse backgrounds and help them attain better care. Kindness and truth are fundamental in ensuring that a patient understands their condition through provision of right information. Patients have autonomy and the principle of beneficence implores nurses as healthcare providers to offer care that provides benefits. Therefore, the theory that reflects best my personal view is Orem’s self-care model. I believe that nurses should do not than being at the bedside and help patients have a holistic approach to their condition. They should integrate them as self-care theory advances in care plans so that they understand each action that a nurse is taking to provide care. Self-care model shows that as a nurse, I have different roles that if performed well, can lead to better patient outcomes.

Conclusion

Nursing theory plays a critical role in care provision in the current practice. Nursing theories allow nurses to attain a foundation of the profession and offer care by integrating different aspects in patients’ and health populations’ environment. Through nursing theories like Orem’s self-care, nurses align their world views to provide better care in a dynamic and fast changing healthcare environment.

References

Alisher, A. N., Atta, S., Yasin, I., & Sohail, M. A. (2019). Clinical application of nightingale’s

theory. International Journal of Nursing Care, 7(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.5958/2320-8651.2019.00002.4

Gença, F., & Uslu, A. (2020). Nursing approaches and their effect on the health of elderly with

COVID-19. International Journal of Emerging Trends in Health Sciences, 4(3), 100-110. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6258-7789

Pokorny, E. M. (2018). Nursing Theorists of Historical Significance. I Raile Alligood, MR (red.)

            Nursing Theorists and their work. 9. Suppl. St. Louis: Elsevier, 12-27.

Younas, A. & Quennell, S. (2019). Usefulness of nursing theory-guided practice: an integrative

review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science, 33(3):540-555. doi: 10.1111/scs.12670

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Nursing Theory Concept Applied In Research and Nursing Practice

Nursing theories are systematic bodies of knowledge that describe nursing and nursing practice. The theories describe nursing as a unique profession from other professions, such as medicine. Theories are a framework of concepts that guide nursing practice at a concrete and specific level. This paper will describe a nursing theory that employs a concept of interest that can be applied in research and nursing practice and discuss the origin and major concepts of the theory.

Description of the Theory

The Swanson theory proposes that the primary goal of nurse caring is to support patients’ well-being. Swanson defined caring as a nurturing approach of connecting to a valued other person toward whom an individual feels a personal sense of commitment and responsibility (Swanson, 1993). The theory states that the nurse and the client being provided care for, get into a caring relationship, and thus their interactions should be mutually beneficial.  The theory centers on teaching and healing during pregnancy. It enables one to understand how families and health providers cope with miscarriages and the healing process essential to facilitate closure (Nurse-Clarke et al., 2019). Furthermore, the theory facilitates caring behaviors among nurses in daily activities.

Origins of the Theory and Its Scope/Level

Swanson’s theory of caring originates from three phenomenological studies that were conducted in the field of perinatal nursing. Swanson derived the theory from nursing and non-nursing literature such as ethics and philosophy.  This is a middle-range theory, which facilitates our insight into the dynamics of the experience of a caring relationship between a human being and others (Swanson, 1993). The elements of the theory have been backed in a caring-based counseling intervention study with female patients who had miscarriages in a meta-analysis of caring research (Nurse-Clarke et al., 2019).  The theory informs nurses when engaging with vulnerable patients and encourages them to provide an environment that promotes healing.

Although the Swanson’s Middle-Range Theory middle-range theory is founded on nursing research, it provides a way to hypothesize the meaning and components of caring that surpass the traditional nurse-patient dynamic (Kalfoss & Owe, 2015). Furthermore, the theory gives nursing researchers insight into the essence of perceiving study participants as capable people, with important personal accounts that they should be allowed to convey in a safe and non-judgmental environment (Kalfoss & Owe, 2015). The theory also informs us that research should be useful to study participants and that by being conscious of the five processes, we can achieve this.

Major Concepts of the Theory

Swanson’s theory of caring contains five caring processes, each having multiple subcategories. The caring processes are: Maintaining Belief, Knowing, Being With, Doing For, and Enabling (Swanson, 1993).  The five concepts are related in that they guide the nurse in assisting the client in coping after a difficult situation.  Firstly, the nurse must strive to understand the client’s situation and then be emotionally present for them. By understanding the client’s situation, the nurse then supports them by helping them perform activities and tasks they would perform themselves if they had the ability (Nurse-Clarke et al., 2019). The nurse then takes the client through life transitions unfamiliar to them. Lastly, the nurse must maintain belief and sustain faith to help the client get through the emotionally difficult process.

Concept of Interest

My Concept of interest is empathy related to grief and loss. Loss is the absence of something that a person valued and can be actual or perceived (Sinclair et al., 2017). Grief is an internal part of the loss and refers to the emotional feelings attributed to the loss. My concept of interest is related to Swanson’s theory since women who miscarriage experience immense grief from the loss of their pregnancy (Nurse-Clarke et al., 2019).  Nurses should show empathy to these women as they progress through the healing process (Sinclair et al., 2017). The nurse can achieve this by striving to understand the woman’s grief, being emotionally available, and listening to the woman as she expresses her feelings.

The concept of empathy related to grief and loss is related to Swanson’s theory concepts of ‘Knowing’ and ‘Being with.’ Knowing refers to endeavoring to understand what a specific situation means from the view of the person experiencing it (Kalfoss & Owe, 2015). Subcategories in knowing include assessing thoroughly, avoiding assumptions, looking for cues, focusing on the one cared for, and involving the self of both. By striving to understand a patient’s grief experience and its meaning to them, the nurse can create a positive and safe environment that can facilitate the healing process.

Being With refers to being genuinely present with another individual as a way of showing them that their experiences matter.  Subcategories in this process are non-burdening, showing availability, enduring with, and sharing feelings (Swanson, 1993). The nurse can be present with clients experiencing grief by spending extra time with them, accepting their emotions, and using kind words that show respect. The nurse can also use nonverbal communication, such as attentive listening, eye contact, and concerned facial expressions to convey support (Nurse-Clarke et al., 2019). Using these techniques when communicating with clients experiencing grief demonstrates empathy and builds rapport.

References

Kalfoss, M., & Owe, J. (2015). Empirical verification of Swanson’s caring processes found in nursing actions: Systematic review. Open Journal of Nursing, 5(11), 976. . http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojn.2015.511104

Nurse-Clarke, N., DiCicco-Bloom, B., & Limbo, R. (2019). Application of caring theory to nursing Care of Women Experiencing Stillbirth. MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 44(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMC.0000000000000494.

Sinclair, S., Beamer, K., Hack, T. F., McClement, S., Raffin Bouchal, S., Chochinov, H. M., & Hagen, N. A. (2017). Sympathy, empathy, and compassion: A grounded theory study of palliative care patients’ understandings, experiences, and preferences. Palliative medicine, 31(5), 437–447. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216316663499

Swanson, K. M. (1993). Nursing as informed caring for the well‐being of others. Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 25(4), 352-357. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.1993.tb00271.x

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I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• Student paper example
• Citing Sources
• The Writing Center is a great resource