Nursing Theory and Foundations

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What is the primary role of theory in nursing practice?

To provide a framework for nursing education

To develop new medical treatments

To explain and predict patient outcomes (correct)

To establish a standard for nursing care

What is metatheory in the context of nursing?

An examination of the relationships between components of knowledge in a discipline (correct)

A framework for evaluating nursing research

A specific nursing theory that guides practice

A set of assumptions that underlie a nursing theory

What is the domain of nursing that focuses on the external factors that influence a patient's health?

Nursing Process

Person

Health

Environment/Situation (correct)

Who is considered the first nursing theorist?

Florence Nightingale Signup and view all the answers

What era of nursing theory development saw a focus on graduate education and research?

Graduate education era Signup and view all the answers

What is the current era of nursing theory development characterized by?

The application of existing theories in practice Signup and view all the answers

What is a key feature of nursing theories?

They are dynamic and responsive to the changing environment Signup and view all the answers

Which type of theory is broad in scope and complex?

Grand Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a characteristic of prescriptive theories?

Guiding practice change Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of nursing knowledge?

To explain the practice of nursing Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between theory and nursing knowledge?

Theory generates nursing knowledge Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of shared theories in nursing?

They explain a phenomenon specific to the discipline Signup and view all the answers

What is the nursing process an example of?

A system Signup and view all the answers

Which type of theory is narrow in scope and focuses on a specific aspect of nursing?

Practice Signup and view all the answers

Which nursing theory is classified as a grand theory and focuses on the patient's self-care needs?

Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory Signup and view all the answers

Which component of the nursing process involves continually assessing how much self-care a patient is able to perform?

Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of Nightingale's Environmental Theory?

Environment as the focus of nursing care Signup and view all the answers

Which nursing theory is classified as a middle-range theory and integrates patients' cultural traditions, values, and beliefs into care plans?

Leininger's Culture Care Theory Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Clinical Judgment Model?

To evaluate nursing students' abilities to make clinical judgments Signup and view all the answers

What type of nursing knowledge is theoretical and experiential?

Nursing knowledge Signup and view all the answers

Which phase of Peplau's Interpersonal Theory involves the nurse and patient working together to achieve a common goal?

Working Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of theoretical knowledge in nursing science and practice?

To stimulate thinking and create a broad understanding of nursing science and practice Signup and view all the answers

What is the basis of experiential knowledge in nursing?

Nurses' experiences in providing care to patients Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of considering findings from theory-based research in nursing practice?

To determine the effectiveness of a theory in practice Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of theory-generating research in nursing?

To explore relationships among phenomena using logic Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of theory-testing research in nursing?

To determine how accurately a theory describes a nursing phenomenon Signup and view all the answers

What is the outcome of both theory-generating and theory-testing research in nursing?

The refinement of the knowledge base of nursing Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of research-based interventions in nursing practice?

To be incorporated into theory-based practice Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between theory and research in nursing?

Theory and research inform and refine each other Signup and view all the answers

What is the ultimate goal of the interaction between theory and research in nursing?

To refine the knowledge base of nursing Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Nursing Foundation

Theory serves as the foundation for nursing care.
Theory, research, and practice are bound together in a continuous interactive relationship.

Theory

Helps explain an event by defining ideas or concepts, explaining relationships among the concepts, and predicting outcomes.
Metatheory looks at the relationships of various components that make up the knowledge of a discipline.
Nursing theory conceptualizes some aspect of nursing to describe, explain, predict, or prescribe nursing care.

Components of a Theory

Phenomenon
Concepts
Definitions
- Theoretical/conceptual
- Operational
Assumptions

Domain of Nursing

Domain
Paradigm
Conceptual framework
Nursing metaparadigm
- Person
- Health
- Environment/Situation

Evolution of Nursing Theory

First nursing theorist: Florence Nightingale
Curriculum era: 1900s-1940s
Research era: 1950s-1970s
Graduate education era: 1950s-1970s
Theory era: 1980s-1990s
Theory utilization era: 2000s-today
Theories are dynamic and responsive to the changing environment.

Types of Theory

Grand: Abstract, broad in scope, complex
Middle-range: Limited in scope and less abstract
Practice: Narrow in scope and focus
Descriptive: Describe phenomena and identify circumstances in which phenomena occur
Prescriptive: Address nursing interventions for a phenomenon, guide practice change, and predict the consequences

Theory-Based Nursing Practice

Nursing knowledge is derived from basic and nursing sciences, experience, aesthetics, nurses’ attitudes, and standards of practice.
Goal of nursing knowledge: To explain the practice of nursing as different and distinct from the practice of medicine, psychology, and other health care disciplines.
Theory generates nursing knowledge for use in practice, thus supporting EBP.

Shared Theories

Explain a phenomenon specific to the discipline that developed the theory.
Several nursing theories are based on systems theory.
The nursing process is a system.
Nursing process components
- Input
- Output
- Feedback
- Content

Select Nursing Theories

Nightingale’s Environmental Theory
- Environment as the focus of nursing care
- Grand theory
Peplau’s Interpersonal Theory
- Focus on interpersonal relations between nurse, patient, and patient’s family
- Phases: preorientation, orientation, working, resolution
- Middle-range theory
Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory
- Focuses on patient’s self-care needs
- Continually assess how much self-care a patient is able to perform.
- Grand theory
Leininger’s Culture Care Theory
- Theory of cultural care diversity and universality
- Integrates patients’ cultural traditions, values, and beliefs into care plans
- Middle-range theory
National Council of State Boards of Nursing Clinical Judgment Model
- Developed to help guide nursing educators in evaluating nursing students’ abilities to make clinical judgments
- Model with multiple layers that help explain the cognitive process nurses use to make clinical judgments
- Students can use this model to learn how to think like a nurse and make safe clinical decisions

Links Among Theory and Knowledge Development and Research in Nursing

Nursing knowledge is theoretical and experiential.
Theoretical knowledge: goals are to stimulate thinking and create a broad understanding of nursing science and practice.
Experiential knowledge: based on nurses’ experiences in providing care to patients.
Nurses consider findings from theory-based research to determine whether the theory can be used in practice.
Sometimes research is used to develop new theories.
Theory-generating research uses logic to explore relationships among phenomena.
Theory-testing research determines how accurately a theory describes a nursing phenomenon.
Both theory-generating and theory-testing research refine the knowledge base of nursing.
Nurses incorporate research-based interventions into theory-based practice.

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Description

Understand the role of theory in nursing care, its relationship with research and practice, and how it conceptualizes nursing aspects to describe, explain, and predict outcomes.