Everything that is in existence is believed to have originated from somewhere. Did you know that this applies also to Nursing as a career? We have prepared this article for you to learn about Essential Nursing Theories and Theorists to enlighten you big time.
Nursing Theories Definition
Nursing theories are systematic collections of information that define what nursing is, what nurses do, and why they do it. Nursing theories help to define nursing as a distinct discipline distinct from other fields (e.g., medicine). It is a conceptual and functional framework designed to guide nursing practice at a more concrete and specific level.
Nursing as a profession is dedicated to recognizing its own unrivaled body of knowledge critical to nursing practice—nursing science. To distinguish this foundation of knowledge, nurses must identify, develop, and comprehend nursing-related concepts and theories. Nursing, as a science, is founded on the idea of what nursing is, what nurses do, and why. Nursing is a distinct discipline distinct from medicine.
Definition of terms
Understanding selected terminologies, definitions, and assumptions are required to develop nursing theory.
Philosophy: Beliefs and values that define a way of thinking and are widely known and understood by a group or discipline.
Theory. A belief, policy, or procedure is proposed or implemented as the foundation for action. It refers to a logical set of general propositions used as explanation principles. Theories can also be used to explain, predict, or control events.
Concept: The building blocks of theories are frequently referred to as concepts. They are primarily thought vehicles that involve images.
Models: Models are representations of the interaction of concepts that show patterns. They provide an overview of the theory’s thinking and may illustrate how the approach can be applied in practice.
The conceptual framework A conceptual framework is a collection of related ideas, statements, or concepts. It is frequently used interchangeably with abstract models and grand theories.
Proposition: Propositions are statements that describe how two concepts are related.
Domain: A profession’s or discipline’s domain is its point of view or territory.
Process. Processes are organized steps, changes, or functions that are designed to produce the desired result.
Paradigm: A paradigm is a shared understanding and assumption about reality and the world, also known as a worldview or widely view of things.
Metaparadigm: A metaparadigm is the most general statement of discipline and serves as a framework for the development of more restricted structures of conceptual models. Much of nursing theory has focused on articulating relationships between four major concepts: person, environment, health, and nursing.
The Evolution of Nursing Theories
• In her “Environmental Theory” in 1860, Florence Nightingale defined nursing as “the act of utilizing the patient’s environment to assist him in his recovery.”
• In the 1950s, nursing scholars agreed that nursing needed to validate itself by producing its own scientifically tested body of knowledge.
• Hildegard Peplau presented her Theory of Interpersonal Relations in 1952, emphasizing the nurse-client relationship as the foundation of nursing practice.
• Virginia Henderson defined the nurse’s role in 1955 as assisting sick or healthy people to gain independence in meeting 14 basic needs. As a result, her Nursing Need Theory was born.
• Faye Abdellah published “Typology of 21 Nursing Problems” in 1960, which shifted the focus of nursing from a disease-centered to a patient-centered approach.
• Ida Jean Orlando emphasized the reciprocal relationship between patient and nurse in 1962 and saw nursing’s professional function as determining and meeting the patient’s immediate need for assistance.
• Dorothy Johnson established the Behavioral System Model in 1968 and advocated for the patient’s efficient and effective behavioral functioning in order to prevent illness.
• In 1970, Martha Rogers saw nursing as both a science and an art because it allowed her to see the unitary human being as an integral part of the universe.
• According to Dorothea Orem’s 1971 theory, nursing care is required if the client is unable to meet biological, psychological, developmental, or social needs.
• Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment, published in 1971, stated that the nurse is considered part of the patient’s environment. The nurse-patient relationship created is for achieving goals toward good health. • Betty Neuman’s Theory of Needs, published in 1972, states that many needs exist, and each may disrupt client balance or stability. The system model of nursing practice aims to reduce stress.
• Callista Roy defined the individual in 1979 as a collection of interconnected systems that maintain the balance between these various stimuli.
• Jean Watson developed the caring philosophy in 1979, emphasizing humanistic aspects of nursing as they intersect with scientific knowledge and nursing practice.
The Nursing Revolution
Person, environment, health, and nursing are four major concepts that are frequently interrelated and fundamental to nursing theory.
These four concepts are referred to as the nursing metaparadigm.
1) Person
Individuals, patients, groups, families, and communities are all examples of Persons (also known as Clients or Human Beings) who receive nursing care.
The environment (or situation) is defined as the client’s internal and external surroundings. It encompasses all positive and negative conditions that affect the patient, the physical environment, such as family, friends, and significant others, and the setting in which they seek healthcare.
2) Health
The level of wellness or well-being that the client experiences is defined as health. Depending on the patient, the clinical setting, and the health care provider, it can mean different things.
3) Nursing
The nurse’s attributes, characteristics, and actions provide care on behalf of or in collaboration with the client. There are many definitions of nursing, though nursing scholars may disagree on the precise meaning. Nursing theories’ ultimate goal is to improve patient care.
These four concepts are used frequently and defined differently across various nursing theories. Each nurse theorist’s definition differs depending on their orientation, nursing experience, and other factors that influence the theorist’s nursing perspective. The person is the primary focus, but how each theorist defines the nursing metaparadigm provides a unique perspective specific to that theory.
Nursing Theories Components
A theory must contain concepts, definitions, relational statements, and assumptions explaining a phenomenon to be considered a theory. It should also explain how these components interact with one another.
1) Phenomenon
A phrase describes an idea or reaction to an event, situation, process, group of events, or situations. Phenomena can be both temporary and permanent. Nursing theories are concerned with the sensation of nursing.
2) Concepts
Interconnected concepts define a theory. Concepts help to describe or label a phenomenon. They are words or phrases that identify, define, structure, and define the boundaries of ideas generated about a specific phenomenon. Concepts can be either abstract or concrete.
• Abstract ideas. Defined as a mental construct that exists independently of time or place.
• Concrete Ideas. They are directly experienced and associated with a specific place and time.
3) Definitions
Definitions are used to show the general meaning of the theory’s concepts. Explanations may be theoretical or operational in nature.
• Conceptual Definitions. Define a specific concept from the standpoint of the theorist.
• Definitions of Operations Explain how concepts are measured.
1) Statements about Relationships
Relational statements explain the connections between two or more concepts. They are the connections that connect ideas.
2) Assumptions
Assumptions, which are based on values and beliefs, are accepted as truths. These statements describe the nature of concepts, definitions, the purpose of a theory, its relationships, and its structure.
Significance of Nursing Theories
Today, nursing theories serve as the foundation for nursing practice. In many cases, nursing theory guides knowledge development and directs education, research, and training. Nursing was not historically recognized as an academic discipline or the profession it is today. Nursing was thought to be a task-oriented occupation prior to the development of nursing theories. The medical profession directed and controlled the training and function of nurses.
Let us examine the significance of nursing theory and its relevance to nursing practice:
• Nursing theories assist in recognizing what should serve as the foundation of practice by explicitly describing nursing.
• A nursing theory helps nurses understand their purpose and role in healthcare by defining nursing.
• Theories provide a rationale or scientific basis for nursing interventions and provide nurses with the knowledge base they need to act and respond appropriately in nursing care situations.
• Nursing theories lay the groundwork for nursing practice, generate new knowledge and indicate where nursing should go in the future (Brown, 1964).
• Nursing theory can aid patients, managers, and other healthcare professionals in recognizing and understanding the unique contribution that nurses make to the healthcare service by providing nurses with a sense of identity (Draper, 1990).
• Nursing theories prepare nurses to reflect on assumptions and question nursing values, further defining nursing and expanding knowledge.
• The purpose of nursing theories is to define, predict, and demonstrate nursing phenomena (Chinn and Jacobs, 1978).
• Nursing theories prepare nurse students in preparation of developmental psychology essays and papers in college
• It can be viewed as the nursing profession’s attempt to maintain and preserve its professional limits and boundaries.
• Nursing theories, in many cases, guide knowledge development and direct education, research, and practice, even though each influences the others (Fitzpatrick and Whall, 2005).
Uses of Nursing Theories
The primary goal of nursing theory is to improve practice by positively influencing patients’ health and quality of life. Nursing theories are also developed in order to define and describe nursing care, guide nursing practice, and serve as a foundation for clinical decision-making. Nursing’s accomplishments in the past have resulted in nursing being recognized as an academic discipline, research, and profession.
a) Within the Academic Discipline
Earlier nursing programs identified the key concepts in one or two nursing models, organized the ideas, and built an entire nursing curriculum around the newly created framework. The distinct language of these models was typically incorporated into program objectives, course objectives, course descriptions, and clinical performance criteria. The goal was to explain the fundamental implications of the profession and raise its status.
b) In terms of investigation
The development of theory is critical to the research process, as theory must be used as a framework to provide perspective and guidance to the research study. Theory can also be used to direct the research process by generating and testing hypotheses. There must be a continuous reciprocal and cyclical connection between theory, practice, and research to improve the nursing profession’s ability to meet societal duties and responsibilities. This will help bridge the perceived “gap” between theory and practice while also promoting theory-guided practice.
c) Professionally
Clinical practice generates research questions and theoretical knowledge. Its primary contribution in a clinical setting has been the facilitation of reflecting, questioning, and thinking about what nurses do. Because nurses and nursing practice are frequently subordinated to powerful institutional forces and traditions, any framework that encourages nurses to reflect on, question, and thinks about what they do is invaluable.
Essential Nursing Theories and Theorists Classifications
Nursing theories can be classified in a variety of ways. They are classified based on their function, abstraction levels, or goal orientation.
By means of abstraction
There are three major categories when categorizing nursing theories based on their level of abstraction: grand theory, middle-range theory, and practice-level theory.
Outstanding Nursing Theories
• Grand theories are abstract, broad in scope, and complex, necessitating additional research for clarification.
• Grand nursing theories provide a general framework and nursing ideas rather than guiding specific nursing interventions.
• Grand nursing theorists create works based on their own experiences and time, which explains why theories differ so much.
• Address the components of the nursing metaparadigm of person, nursing, health, and environment.
Theories of Middle-Range Nursing
• Have a narrower scope (in comparison to grand theories) and present concepts and propositions at a lower level of abstraction. They are concerned with a specific phenomenon in nursing.
• Nursing graduates proposed using this level of theory due to the difficulty of testing grand ideas.
• While most middle-range theories are based on the works of a grand theorist, they can also be conceived through research, nursing practice, or other disciplines’ ideas.
Theories of Practice in Nursing
• Situation-specific theories that focus on a specific patient population at one particular time are known as practice nursing theories.
• Nursing theories developed at this level have a more direct effect on nursing practice than more abstract theories because they provide frameworks for nursing interventions and suggest outcomes or the impact of nursing practice.
• These theories are linked to concepts from middle-range or grand ideas.
Goal-Orientation
Theories can also be classified according to their objectives. They can be either descriptive or prescriptive in nature.
Theories of Descriptiveness
• The first level of theory development is descriptive theories. They describe the phenomenon and identify its properties and components and the context in which it occurs.
• Descriptive theories are not action-oriented and do not attempt to create or change a situation.
• Descriptive theories are classified into two types: factor-isolating theories and explanatory theories.
• Also known as category-formulating or labeling theory, factor-isolating theories describe the properties and dimensions of phenomena.
• Explanatory theories describe and explain the nature of certain phenomena’s relationships to other phenomena.
Theories of Prescription
• Address a phenomenon’s nursing interventions, guide practice change, and predict outcomes.
• Contains propositions that advocate for change.
• Prescriptive theories are used to predict nursing interventions’ outcomes.
Leadership Theories and Theorists in Nursing
Primary care nurses create, develop, implement, evaluate, and critique policy, with all the implications for national and local practice development and patient care. Working in collaboration with patients and users of healthcare, governance of practice, advancements in roles, and service developments are all examples of the evolving nature of primary care, raising concerns about leadership capacity. Therefore, nurses must feel prepared to lead the practice and contribute effectively at all levels. Those working in primary care can develop their capability and ability to move training forward by taking a critical perspective on the use of leadership theories.
Conclusion
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