Instructions:-Using APA writing style, write a three-page discussion of your reactions to the study of grand nursing theories. In addition to your texts you must use 2-3 references.
Include a brief description of 2 grand nursing theories.
What are some positive and negative aspects of studying grand theories?
How can the process of studying grand theories be made more relevant to today’s practice?
What changes would you like to see in the future that you believe could make an impact on advancing theoretical thinking in nursing?
Solution.
Introduction
Grand nursing theories comprise of global concepts that tend to explain the wide areas of a certain discipline as developed through insightful and thoughtful appraisal of ideas that already exist. These theories are highly sophisticated and wide in terms of their scope, with some incorporating pother theories. The theories provide different perspectives that allow for development of an understanding of the nursing phenomena in diverse ways. This paper reviews the various benefits of grand theory with a reference to Imogene King’s Goal Attainment Theory and Ida Jean Orlando’s Nursing Process Theory, and provides recommendations on the various changes that can be made in the studying of grand nursing theories to make them more interesting and impactful.
Examples of Grand Nursing Theories
Imogene King’s Goal Attainment Theory
King’s theory focuses on the interaction between the nurses and the patient and the relationship established between the two (Alligood, 2014). This theory suggest that transactions occur between nurses and their patients during their interactions, and that such transactions create a framework from which goal setting proceeds. The major concepts brought forth by this theory include perception, interaction, communication, stress, role, transaction, and growth and development. As such, the independent judgements, actions, and perceptions of the nurse and the patient lead to interaction, reaction, and transaction (Alligood, 2014). In this sense, the nurse and the patient seek a center point in which they meet in terms of their pre-held believes, experiences, and assumptions and collaborate towards setting goals towards which they work to achieve throughout the care process.
Ida Jean Orlando’s Nursing Process Theory
Orlando used her research to develop the theory of Nursing Process, which suggests that the main role of the nurse is to identify and meet the immediate need of the patient for help (Alligood, 2014). This process of looking out for the need of the patient and meeting it effectively is what is referred to as the ‘nursing process’. Orlando thus established that there is need for nurses to maintain a connection with their patients make sure that whatever the patients need is availed to them. Both the non-verbal and verbal cues of the patient should be given much attention with the nurse expected to appropriately react to the behavior of the patient in order to alleviate distress (Alligood, 2014). In this case, the patient, the nursing reactions, and the nursing actions are considered to be the elements of a nursing situation.
Positive and negative aspects of studying grand theories
The studying of grand nursing theories provides various advantages both to the individual, the academic environment, and the profession. These theories are developed as a result of the commitment of scholars and their deliberate effort to study and reflect on various nursing contexts over time. As such, these theories offer practitioners a concrete academic foundation based on which approaches of patient care that have been tested and proven over time can be promoted (Smith & Parker, 2015). These theories also provide practitioners with propositions and general concepts that pertain professional nursing. the autonomy of nurses is also promoted through these theories as they increase they are provided with a deeper understanding of their profession (Smith & Parker, 2015). The major challenge of studying these theories involves the complex nature of the theories, that they may be misinterpreted and hence applied wrongly, an aspect that may negatively influence the outcomes of such application.
Making the process of studying grand theories more relevant to today’s practice
To make studying of grand nursing theories relevant to modern-day practice, it is important to adopt process models which are employed in the translation of research into practice (Nilsen, 2015). Most of the challenges that are faced in the application of grand nursing theories in practice lie within the difficulties experienced in translating the complex theoretical aspects of such theories into practice. As such, the process models would be highly effective in interpreting the various theories and the underlying researchers and in translation of such theories and models into practice in different contexts (Nilsen, 2015). This would allow health care providers to effectively understand the various theories that they are presented with and their applicability to their varying situations.
Future changes that could make an impact on advancing theoretical thinking in nursing
It is without doubt that the application of the grant nursing theories has led to the growth of nursing knowledge. Nevertheless, the science of nursing continually grows, calling for the need for additional research. To facilitate theoretical thinking in nursing, one of the steps that ought to be promoted involves facilitating theoretically-derived evidence-based practice in nursing. It is through evidence-based practice that the nurses will feel compelled to apply what they have learnt and researched in their daily practice. In this case, nursing theories will provide frameworks, based on which nursing decisions will be made in view of improving both provider and patient experience (Smith & Parker, 2015).
Conclusion
It is clear that nursing theory is important in
defining nursing practice. These theories provide a lens through which health
care providers are able to view nursing as a practice and to identify the
various aspects that ought to be upheld in order to ensure that increased patient
care quality is achieved. Nursing theories offer frameworks that can be used as
standards for nursing practice by defining the various approaches, specific to
certain situations, can be employed to improve patient outcomes. Hence, it is
important for such theories to be improved and merged with evidence-based
practice to effect better results.
References
Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing Theorists and Their Work. Missouri: Elsevier Mosby.
Nilsen, P. (2015). Making sense of implementation theories, models and frameworks. Implementation Science, 10(53), 1-13.
Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing Theories and Nursing Practice (4th ed.). Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company.
