Importance of Nursing Theory Assignment Requirements
Importance of Nursing Theory: Guidelines
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to a) identify a nursing theory, b) analyze the importance of the selected theory to the nursing profession, c) summarize key concepts and relationships among the concepts of the selected nursing theory, d) present views of the selected theory on areas of specialization, and e) communicate ideas in a clear, succinct, and scholarly manner.
Course Outcomes
Through this assignment, the student will demonstrate the ability to:
- (CO#1) Analyze theories from nursing and relevant fields with respect to their components, relationships among the components, logic of the propositions, comprehensiveness, and utility to advanced nursing. (PO1)
- (CO#3) Communicate the analysis of and proposed strategies for the use of a theory in nursing practice. (PO3, 7, 10)
- (CO#4) Demonstrate logical and creative thinking in the analysis and application of a theory to nursing practice. (PO4, 7)
Due Date
Sunday 11:59 PM MT at the end of Week 2
Total Points Possible: 100
Requirements
Description of the Assignment
This assignment focuses on the importance of nursing theory within the profession. Selecting one nursing theory (non-nursing theories are not allowed), the nursing theory will be presented by identifying the key concepts present within the theory. The selected nursing theory will then be applied to ONE of the following professional nursing practice areas:
- Education (e.g. undergraduate, staff development, etc.)
- Leadership (e.g. nurse executive, manager, leader, etc.)
- Informatics (e.g. data management, etc.)
- Healthcare policy (e.g. application to local, state, national, or global healthcare concerns, etc.)
- Clinical (e.g. patient safety, patient education, etc.)
Criteria for Content
Introduction:
The introduction requires the following information.
- Statements about nursing theory in general
- Identification of the ONE nursing theory (non-nursing or borrowed theories are not allowed) selected by the student to be used within this assignment. The specific selected nursing theory may be from any of the three categories of nursing theory (i.e. grand, middle-range, or practice), but must be a specific nursing theory (i.e. Orem, Roy, Benner, etc.); a category may not be used.
- Identification of the sections of the paper.
Importance of Nursing Theory:
This section requires the following information.
- Present an analysis of the importance of nursing theory, in general, to the nursing profession. Each of the following questions are to be answered.
- Why should the study of nursing theory be included in a master’s program?
- How is nursing theory useful to the nursing profession?
- How can nursing theory be used to separate the nursing profession from other healthcare professions?
- What would be ONE concern regarding the use of nursing theory within the profession?
- A minimum of two scholarly nursing references are required for this section.
Summary of Selected Nursing Theory:
This section requires the following information.
- Present the name and author of the selected nursing theory (bibliographic and historical information about the theory or theorist is NOT included). Identify when the nursing theory was initially published and the latest edition of the selected nursing theory.
- Provide a summary of the key concepts contained within the selected nursing theory.
- Provide a detailed description of how this nursing theory addresses each of the metaparadigms/ concepts (person, health, environment, and nursing profession) associated with nursing.
- Identify why this nursing theory selected and its potential use within the student’s selected Master’s track (i.e. education, leadership, informatics, healthcare policy, or clinical)
- A minimum of three scholarly references are required for this section.
Application of Specific Nursing Theory to Selected Professional Nursing Practice area:
This section includes the following elements:
- Present a discussion of how the selected nursing theory defines and explains one of the following professional nursing practice areas:
- Education (e.g. undergraduate, staff development, etc.)
- Leadership (e.g. nurse executive, manager, leader, etc.)
- Informatics (e.g. data management, etc.)
- Healthcare policy (e.g. application to local, state, national, or global healthcare concerns, etc.)
- Clinical (e.g. patient safety, patient education, etc.)
- Present 2 (two) examples illustrating the above information. Professional examples come from a student’s own practice experiences or from the scholarly literature. If the example is from the student’s experience, identify this as the source by using the first person in describing the example.
- Keep each example succinct (about 1 – 3 paragraphs).
- A minimum of two scholarly references are required for this section.
Conclusion:
This section includes the following elements:
- Summarizes presented information regarding theory in general and its use within the nursing profession
- Summarizes the selected nursing theory.
- Presents self-reflection regarding what was learned from writing this assignment.
Criteria for Format and Special Instructions
- This assignment must be submitted to TurnItIn™, as required by the TurnItIn™ policy. A Similarity Index of “blue” or “green” must be obtained. A score in the blue or green range indicates a similarity of less than 24% which is the benchmark for CCN graduate nursing students. Any other level of similarity index level requires the student to revise the assignment before the due date and time. To allow sufficient time for revision, early submission of the assignment to TurnItIn™ is highly encouraged. The final submission will be graded by faculty. If a Turnitin™ report indicates that plagiarism has occurred, the Academic Integrity policy will be followed.
- A minimum of 4 (four) scholarly references must be used. A dictionary, required textbooks for this course, and Chamberlain College of Nursing lesson information may NOT be used as scholarly references for this assignment. References are current – within a 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided and the instructor has approved them.
- Title page, running head, body of paper, and reference page must follow APA guidelines as found in the 6th edition of the manual. This includes the use of headings for each section of the paper except for the introduction where no heading is used.
- The paper (excluding the title page and reference page) should be at least 5, but no more than 7 pages. Points will be lost for not meeting these length requirements.
- Ideas and information that come from scholarly sources must be cited and referenced correctly.
- Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation are followed and consistent with formal, scientific writing.
- PLEASE note: Do not rely on .com sites to identify the nursing theory as they do not provide accurate information in all cases.
Preparing the Assignment
Criteria for Format and Special Instructions
- This assignment must be submitted to TurnItIn™, as required by the TurnItIn™ policy. A Similarity Index of “blue” or “green” must be obtained. A score in the blue or green range indicates a similarity of less than 24% which is the benchmark for CCN graduate nursing students. Any other level of similarity index level requires the student to revise the assignment before the due date and time. To allow sufficient time for revision, early submission of the assignment to TurnItIn™ is highly encouraged. The final submission will be graded by faculty. If a Turnitin™ report indicates that plagiarism has occurred, the Academic Integrity policy will be followed.
- A minimum of 4 (four) scholarly references must be used. A dictionary, required textbooks for this course, and Chamberlain College of Nursing lesson information may NOT be used as scholarly references for this assignment. References are current – within a 5-year time frame unless a valid rationale is provided and the instructor has approved them.
- Title page, running head, body of paper, and reference page must follow APA guidelines as found in the 6th edition of the manual. This includes the use of headings for each section of the paper except for the introduction where no heading is used.
- The paper (excluding the title page and reference page) should be at least 5, but no more than 7 pages. Points will be lost for not meeting these length requirements.
- Ideas and information that come from scholarly sources must be cited and referenced correctly.
- Rules of grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation are followed and consistent with formal, scientific writing.
- PLEASE note: Do not rely on .com sites to identify the nursing theory as they do not provide accurate information in all cases.
Solution
Importance of Nursing Theory: King’s Theory of Goal Attainment
Introduction
A theory is any group of concepts that are related and offer propositions concerning actions that provide guidance to practice in any field. As such, these propositions are employed as principles of explanations. Nursing theories are sets of definitions, concepts, assumptions, and relationships or propositions that are derived from various disciplines or nursing models and establish a systematic, purposive understanding of phenomena through developing certain interactions among concepts, which predict, describe, prescribe, or explain. Such theories are either derived through deductive or inductive reasoning. The King’s Theory of Goal Attainment has become an increasingly important nursing theory especially in the clinical area as it provides a framework upon which nursing conduct in the area is based. This theory offers an insight into the interactions between nurses and individuals or groups within the clinical environment. This paper is going to establish an understanding of the general importance of nursing theory, and then reviewing the general concepts of the Theory of Goal Attainment before proceeding to understand the application of the theory in the clinical area of nursing practice.
Importance of nursing theory
Nursing theory defines the daily activities of nursing practice in any of the practice areas. As such, master’s students ought to be exposed to nursing theory even as they take on further exploration of the principles of nursing practice. It is important to note that through development of a clear understanding of nursing theory, both students and practitioners are provided with a leeway through which they can undertake their activities in any of the practice areas, as per the various situations that they may face (Karnick, 2013). With the increased acknowledgement of the importance of evidence-based practice, nursing theory offers practitioners with a framework through which nursing practice ought to be carried out, thus forming a basis on which outcomes can be predicted. As such, the master’s program offers a good opportunity during which students should be exposed to the concepts of nursing theory even as they prepare to take on leadership positions in the nursing profession. In addition, by exploring such theory, these students are provided with an opportunity to expand the knowledge base through research and review in order to fill any gaps within the use of such theory.
In most cases, nurses use different theories to justify their practice as opposed to relying on one single theory. Such application of different theories provides the nurse with an opportunity to select one of the theories that fits each of the situations that they are faced with (Song & Ward, 2015). Within ideal settings, such theories offer underpinnings for the care that nurses provide for the patients in each encounter. As such, these theories allow the nurses to employ analytical skills, critical thinking skills, and improve their comprehension of concepts. Application of nursing theories ion practice also leads to the development of new data and knowledge, which may influence the practice of nursing in future. Nursing theory generally defines the principles of nursing and the roles of nurses in patient care, an aspect that distinguishes what nurses do from what the rest of the healthcare team does. The major concern regarding the application of nursing theory in nursing practice involves the suitability of the theory to the given situation (Song & Ward, 2015). It is important to note that not all the nursing models are best suited for every situation and that there is need for the nurse to critically analyze each situation in order to determine the best model to be applied. Poor applicability of nursing theory may lead to unexpected results and the general outcome of nursing practice.
Summary of King’s Goal Attainment Theory
Imogene King came up with the Goal Attainment Theory in early 1960s. The theory defines the dynamic interpersonal relationship that exists between the nurse and the patient, which allows for growth and development of the patient towards attainment of certain goals in life (Huan & Cao, 2012). According to the theory, goal attainment is affected by various factors including stress, time, roles, and space. There major interacting systems are presented in the model, which include the interpersonal, personal, and social systems, each of which has a set of concepts. In terms of the personal system, the concepts presented are self, perception, development, growth, space, body image, and time. On the other hand, when referring to the interpersonal system, the presented concepts include communication, interaction, role, transaction, and stress. The social system’s concepts include authority, organization, status, decision-making, and power (Caceres, 2015).
The Goal Attainment Theory makes various propositions, in line with positive patient outcome, an aspect that makes it an efficient tool in the clinical setting of nursing practice. The first proposition is that if nurse-patient interactions exhibit perceptual interaction accuracy, transaction will take place (Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, 2015). The second proposition made is that the occurrence of a transaction between the nurse and patient would lead to achievement of a goal or goals. If such goals are achieved, then there will be satisfaction. In addition, it is also proposed that transactions in nurse-patient interactions lead to enhancement of growth and development. On the other hand, congruence between the role performance and role expectations perceived by the patient and nurse would lead to occurrence of a transaction. An experience of role conflict by either of or both the nurse and the patient would lead to stress in the interaction between the nurse and patient (Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, 2015). Lastly, it is proposed that if appropriate information is communicated to the patient by a nurse with special knowledge, mutual setting and achievement of goals will take place.
Application of the Goal Attainment Theory to the Clinical Area of Nursing Practice
One could argue that the goal attainment theory was majorly established for application in the clinical area of nursing practice. The nurse in the clinical setting is faced with various objectives in their interactions with each patient, which forms the mantle for nursing care. This theory provides an insight into how integral client participation is in the making of decisions that affect care (Draaistra, Singh, Ireland, & Harper, 2012). As such, the goal attainment theory focuses on both the nurse-patient interaction process and the results of the care process. One of the key area of the application of the theory in the clinical area of practice is during assessment of the patient. It is important to note that it is during interaction that assessment occurs, whereby the nurse brings various skills and special knowledge while the patient brings perception of the problem and knowledge of self to the interaction. As such, the nurse collects patient data during assessment, which is verified through communication for transaction and interaction (Park & Oh, 2012). It is during this stage that the nurse is able to make a diagnosis of the patient.
Another stage in which the nurse uses the theory is in planning. It is important for the nurse to plan for interventions that would solve the identified problems after diagnosis. According to the goal attainment theory, mutual setting of goals represents planning (Phillips, 2014). The nurse and the patient agree not only on the goals that ought to be achieved but also on the means through which such goals would be achieved. The goal attainment theory are comes into play during the implementation of the established interventions. It is important to note that implementation involves carrying out of activities that are aimed at achieving the set goals. It is at this point that transactions occur. Transactions take place as a result of establishing perceptions of other individuals and the situation at hand, making judgments of such perceptions, and acting in response to such perceptions (Huan & Cao, 2012). When a second party reacts to the actions of the first party, transactions occur, reflecting the shared commitment and view among the parties.
During my nursing practice, I employed the theory is almost my daily activities and interaction with the patients. It was clear that for me to care for each of the patients, I was expected to understand the patient needs. One example in which I applied the theory was during my interaction with a cancer patient. During my assessment, I provided the patient with information concerning his situation according to my perception and my general role in helping him, while the patient opened up to me concerning his pain and the emotional distress. This allowed us to established goals together, which included management of the pain, and seeking psychological support from psychological specialists.
The second example of my application of the theory in practice involved my interaction with a patient who had presented at the hospital with indirect inguinal hernia and had undergone herniorraphy. During assessment, I asked the patient various questions to attain information not only about his current health but also about his past health history, family history, socio-economic status, and lifestyle. In addition, I conducted a physical examination of the patient in which the head-to-foot examination showed normal findings with an exception of the right eye vision difficulty and the left inguinal region healing surgical wound, which the patient complained of as being painful. According to King, for the nurse and the patient to attain a goal, it is important for the nurse to identify the disturbance, problems and concerns of the patient. As such, owing to my findings, I diagnosed the patient with acute pain due to surgical incision, risk of infection, and deficient knowledge concerning home care and treatment. This allowed us to set goals based on what the client wanted and the situation, to which we adhered throughout the care process.
Conclusion
It is clear that nursing
theory is an important part of nursing practice as it provides a framework upon
which nursing care is based. It is through the concepts of nursing theory that
nurses are able to identify the specifics of every situation during their
practice and to understand the grounds upon which to base their judgments
including creating room for patient participation. The King’s Goal Attainment
Theory has proven to be effective in the clinical setting given its provision
for nurse–patient interaction and establishing the role of the nurse in
assessing the patient situation and the role of the patient in providing
adequate process that would help in their care. A review of this theory has
allowed me to understand the importance of the initial nurse patient
interaction to the entire care plan and how the nurse’s ability to attain the
patient’s openness would define the outcome of the care process and patient
satisfaction.
References
Caceres, B. A. (2015). King’s Theory of Goal Attainment: Exploring Functional Status. Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(2), 151-155. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25805388
Draaistra, H., Singh, M. O., Ireland, S., & Harper, T. (2012). Patients’ perceptions of their roles in goal setting in a spinal cord injury regional rehabilitation program. Canadian Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 34(3), 22-30. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23362586
Huan, Y., & Cao, M. (2012). King’s theory of goal attainment and its application care. Chinese Nursing Research, 26(10C), 2785-2787.
Karnick, P. M. (2013). The Importance of Defining Theory in Nursing: Is There a Common Denominator? Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(1), 29-30. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0894318412466747
Park, K. I., & Oh, S. (2012). Effects of Active Parenting Today based on Goal Attainment Theory oParenting Stress, Parenting Behavior, and Parenting Satisfaction in Mothers of School-Age Children. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 42(5), 659-670. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233879763_Effects_of_Active_Parenting_Today_based_on_Goal_Attainment_Theory_on_Parenting_Stress_Parenting_Behavior_and_Parenting_Satisfaction_in_Mothers_of_School-Age_Children
Phillips, T. M. (2014). Exploration of Theoretical Models: Postpartum Weight Retention in African American Adolescents. Nursing Science Quarterly, 27(4), 308-314. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0894318414546409
Song, M.-K., & Ward, S. E. (2015). Making Visible a Theory-Guided Advance Care Planning Intervention. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 47(5), 389-396. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26219616
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. (2015). Articulating nurse practitioner practice using King’s theory of goal attainment. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 27(11), 631-636. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25755171
