Professional Development I - Week 11

Professional Development I - Week 11

• Module 11 covers Nursing Theories, Research, & Evidence-Based Practice
• A land acknowledgment recognizes the territories of the Mohawk Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River
• The Between the Lakes Treaty, Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement, and Upper Canada Treaty are mentioned
• The week's agenda includes Housekeeping, Learning Outcomes, Nursing Theory & Research, Evidence-Based Practice, and Questions

Learning Outcomes

• Define key terms related to nursing theories
• Describe selected theories and conceptual frameworks associated with nursing practice
• Identify common components of nursing theories
• Describe the purpose of research in professional nursing practice
• Define introductory research concepts and terms, and develop skills to critique research
• Understand the meaning of involvement in research for the nursing profession
• Explain the need for evidence to inform nurses' decision-making
• Describe the concepts of evidence-based practice and nursing research, showing how they differ from quality improvement
• Describe various sources of evidence suitable for nursing clinical practice
• Investigate a question regarding best practice that can be answered by nursing research
• Review Best Practice Guidelines, evaluate research, and suggest optimal clinical practice
• Define different nursing theory terms
• Concept: An idea or notion
• Conceptual Model: A group of interconnected concepts
• Framework: A basic structure and context for developing theory
• Metaparadigm: Identifying concepts of a discipline
• Grand Theory: A broad theory covering a discipline's concerns
• Metatheory: Theory about theory development
• Midrange Theory: A focused theory about nursing, potentially about patient outcomes
• Model: A representation of interactions between concepts

Nursing Theory

• The aim of nursing theory is to organize and enable nurses to use knowledge in a professional and accountable manner
• It provides a systematic way to explain, predict, and prescribe phenomena for better nursing practice and patient care
• Theory provides nurses with a structure to view patient situations, organize data, analyze, and interpret information
• Florence Nightingale's work is considered an early model of nursing theory
• Nursing theory development accelerated in the late 1960s, due to health care expansion and evolving societal views
• Nurses needed to distinguish their roles from other healthcare providers, which prompted the development of nursing theories
• Early theorists created conceptual frameworks to organize nursing concepts and relationships
• These frameworks are helpful in analyzing and using information during clinical decision-making and problem solving
• Frameworks are foundational mental maps for practical nursing work

The Nursing Process

• The nursing process stems from a problem-solving method
• The process originally consisted of just four stages (assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation), but a fifth stage, "diagnosis", was later added
• Assessment gathers and interprets relevant information (biographical, environmental, psychological) leading to nursing diagnoses that understand the perspectives of patients.
• Planning involves prioritizing needs , identifying possible nursing interventions, and developing a care plan
• Interventions implement the care plan
• Evaluation assesses the outcomes of interventions and determines if revisions are needed
• The nursing process is widely accepted as a practical, problem-solving approach, continuously cycling through stages to accommodate practical needs in each patient situation.
• The nursing process, as it is seen today, now integrates clinical judgment into the process along with critical thinking

Conceptual Frameworks

• Following the 1960s, nursing theorists leveraged conceptual frameworks to organize nursing knowledge and depict the interactions amongst concepts
• The theory is structured to allow nurses to understand circumstances thoroughly through better developed and more complex perspectives on the specifics of conditions and patients.

Metaparadigm Concepts

• Conceptual frameworks were used to define the substance and structure of nursing
• The collective body of knowledge used for the structure was called meta paradigm concepts
• The four concepts are: Person, Environment, Health, and Nursing
• Person: Includes the client, patient or community member with biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions
• Environment: Internal and external factors like family, social ties, community, healthcare system and physical environment
• Health: More than the absence of disease, it is a state of well-being, helping individuals achieve their full potential
• Nursing: Nurses' systematic thinking about patient situations, shifting toward individualized patient care

Major Theoretical Models

• Grand theories provide a broad conceptual framework for nursing science or human behavior
• Middle-range theories are less abstract and address specific concepts, relevant to nursing practice and varying nursing specializations
• Descriptive theories can explain phenomena, including consequences
• Prescriptive theories address nursing interventions and consequences, and can direct nursing research to develop suitable interventions
• Different types of nursing theories include practice-based theories (e.g., Florence Nightingale Model, McGill Model), needs theories (e.g., Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Virginia Henderson, Dorothea Orem), interactionist theories (e.g., Hildegard Paplau, Joyce Travelbee, Evelyn Adam), systems theories (e.g., Dorothy Johnson, Betty Neuman, Sister Callista Roy), and simultaneity theories (e.g., Martha Rogers, Rosemarie Parse, Jean Watson)

Evidence-Based Practice

• Canadian Nurses Association mandates utilizing Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM) or Evidence-Informed Practice (EIP) in nursing practice
• Critically appraising scientific evidence and integrating it into practice for providing high quality care and improving healthcare systems
• EIDM/EIP involves incorporating findings from research, clinical expertise, patient preferences into practice
• Implementing the process involves asking a clinical question (e.g. best mouth care cleaner, fall reductions in a post-op setting), reviewing literature (using resources such as peer-reviewed research, agency policies, databases), evaluating the outcome, and disseminating the results.
• Effective implementation of EIDM/EIP necessitates using appropriate resources like MEDLINE & CINAHL
• The 6S Pyramid is a tool to quickly and effectively find applicable evidence

Upcoming Assignments and Information

• Complete 1 hour of asynchronous work for Module 11
• Prepare for Module 12 (Week 12) by reviewing objectives and beginning readings
• Students will have a group presentation assignment (Part C assignment) due December 6th
• Refer to Canvas for detailed assignment instructions

Final Exam

• Refer to the announcement for final exam information
• Final exam will be held on Monday, December 9th at IAHS, 4:30pm
• The exam will cover Module 9 through 13
• The exam is worth 25% and will last for 90 minutes
• Students should arrive early, bring their Mohawk OneCard, and use lockers for belongings