Application of Nursing Theory Guidelines: Imogene King’s theory of Goal Attainment.
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to use nursing theory as a way to resolve a problem or issue occurring within nursing leadership, nursing education, nursing informatics, health policy, or advance clinical practice.
Course Outcomes
Through this assignment, a 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 6
Total Points Possible: 275
Requirements
Description of the Assignment:
One nursing theory will be presented as a framework to resolve a problem occurring within one of the professional areas of leadership, education, informatics, healthcare policy or advance clinical practice. The same nursing theory selected in Assignment One may be used to resolve the identified problem.
A specific nursing theory must be used. No non-nursing or borrowed theories are permitted. A category of nursing theory (grand, middle range, practice) may not be used—only a specific, published nursing theory is to be selected and applied to the issue or concern important to the profession of nursing as documented in the nursing literature.
Please note: Do not rely on .com sites to identify the nursing theory as they do not provide accurate information in all cases.
Content
- Introduction:
The introduction for this paper includes:
- General statements on the idea of nursing theory being applied to solve problems/issues in nursing practice. You do not need to go into the specialty area of practice in-depth as this will be covered in another section of the paper.
- A one-paragraph summary of the selected specific nursing theory is required.
- Information identifying the sections of this assignment.
- Description of Issue or Concern:
The selected issue or concern must be clearly identified as being significant to the professional area of either leadership, education, informatics, healthcare policy or advance clinical practice. The issue or concern must be presented comprehensively, but concisely by answering each of the following questions.
- What is the specific issue or concern being presented?
- Why should the nursing profession care about this issue or concern?
- What does the nursing literature have to say about this issue or concern including its frequency of occurrence?
- Who are the stakeholders or the people affected by the issue or concern?
It is expected that a minimum of 3 (three) nursing scholarly references will be used to present and support the provided answers.
- Application of Selected Nursing Theory to Issue or Concern:
This section of the assignment focuses on using the selected nursing theory to resolve the described issue or concern. Required information includes:
- Restating the selected nursing theory to be used
- Identification of one strategy useful in resolving
the identified issue or concern. The
strategy should be presented in depth with the following information being
required:
- A specific description of how the selected nursing theory can help to resolve the issue or concern
- A specific and detailed description of the strategy to be used
- A specific and detailed description of how the strategy can be implemented
- A specific and detailed description of one ethical or legal aspect related to the selected strategy
- A specific and detailed description of one suggestion for future research into either the selected nursing theory or selected issue or concern.
It is expected that a minimum of 3 (three) nursing scholarly references will be used to present and
support the provided answers.
- Conclusion:
This section provides a summary or review of the key elements of the assignment including the selected nursing theory and its application to the issue or concern. In addition, the concluding statements include self-reflection on the new knowledge gained about applying nursing theory to a professional issue or concern.
Preparing the Assignment
Format and Special Instructions
- Paper length: 6 pages minimum; 8 pages maximum, excluding title page and reference page. Points will be deducted for not meeting these requirements.
- A minimum of 6 (six) scholarly references are required. References must be current – not older than 5 years unless a valid rationale is provided and the instructor has approved them. Consult with the course instructor about using an older source.
- A dictionary, required textbooks for this course, and Chamberlain College of Nursing lesson information may NOT be used as scholarly references for this assignment.
- Title page, running head, the body of the paper, and reference page(s) must be in APA format as presented in the 6th edition of the manual
- Ideas and information from readings and other sources must be cited and cited correctly.
- Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing as presented in the 6th edition of the APA manual
Solution
King’s Theory of Goal Attainment
Introduction
The application of nursing theories in practice is an issue that has received increased attention in the recent past, considering the importance of addressing the patient needs to ensure quality healthcare. Theoretical approaches to nursing practice allow the nurses to understand the uniqueness of every patient situation and case and hence to engage the patients in ways that would allow them to address not only the immediate problems faced by the patients but also the underlying problems that could contribute to prolonged or recurrent ailing (Ahtisham & Jacoline, 2015). The King’s theory of Goal Attainment provides a framework through which nurses can be able to establish a good relationship with their patients in order to facilitate effective patient care and outcomes. The core objective of most if not all nursing practitioners is to aid patients in achieving god health. Such can only be achieved if the nurse and the patient set health goals together and embrace approaches that will allow them to achieve such goals. The Goal Attainment theory insists that when there is proper communication and collaboration between the nurse and the patient with view of meeting mutually established goals, they are more likely to accomplish such goals. This paper is going to review how the King’s Goal Attainment theory can be applied in educating diabetic patients on how they can be able to manage the disease.
Description of the issue
My issue involves educating patients on how to manage diabetes and how they can live with the disease. The management of chronic diseases among patients highly relies on the knowledge of the patient to initiate and uphold proper self-management practices as they may not be close to a health professional or setting all the time diabetes is a critical health condition that requires proper coordination between healthcare professionals and the patient in ensuring that it is well contained and that the patient is able to live a normal life. Nurses who have been competitively trained chronic illnesses and the related behavioral aspects are well positioned to educate and coach patients in self-management of diabetes (Wu, Tung, Liang, Lee, & Yu, 2014). Nurse-based motivational interviewing has proven to be one of the most effective ways through which diabetic patients can be engaged in developing a clear understanding of their condition and the approaches that must be upheld in order to ensure that the side effects of diabetes are averted or delayed. Diabetes is a chronic and hence life-long disease. As such, patients need to be imparted with skills and knowledge that is necessary for them to live with the disease for their entire lives, once diagnosed (Wu, Tung, Liang, Lee, & Yu, 2014).
Through motivational interviews, the nurse can be able to identify reasons behind a patient’s hesitance to initiating insulin use (Levich, 2011). The nurse asks the patient directive questions with the intent of eliciting the perceptions of the patient concerning the merits and demerits of insulin therapy, the factors that motivate change of behavior among the patients. After listening to the patient, the nurse is able to repeat what the patient has said back to them without persuasion in order to offer reinforcement and acceptance, with emphasis on self-direction and freedom of choice. This structure allows the nurse to determine the readiness of the patient for any change from the discussion. The use of motivational interviewing allows for a method of education in which the nurse directs the patient through a process in which they understand aspects of their health, their motivators, and how they can embrace behavioral change in view of promoting their health and management of diabetes (Levich, 2011).
Education of diabetic patients by nurses is also important in exploring any barriers that may exist in relation to insulin use or any other self-management approaches (Wu, Tung, Liang, Lee, & Yu, 2014). The nurse is able to build a rapport with the patient and hence identify the various beliefs of the patient concerning the insulin therapy or diabetes management approaches at large. This allows the nurse to gradually reposition insulin or any other diabetes management approaches such as diet in a positive light. By embracing a systematic approach to patient education, various barriers to self-management of diabetes can be easily identified, understood, and overcome. The patient is able to understand the importance of the various treatment approaches in the management of their condition and improving of their health, an aspect that facilitates proper adherence to such approaches (Levich, 2011). Nursing education allows the nurses to change the overall perception held by the patients concerning diabetes management and hence ensures sustainable behavioral change among the patients, thus promoting positivity.
Nurses organize and execute more effective educational interventions as they are well trained in the same and spend more time with the patients as compared to other health professionals such as physicians (Wu, Tung, Liang, Lee, & Yu, 2014). In addition, nurses are good listeners and have a better understanding of their patients as compared to other primary care providers. In addition, apart from helping in the immediate management of glucose regulation needs, nurse-centered education is vital in helping the patients uphold control over their diabetes for a prolonged period (Levich, 2011). As such, this education is important in ensuring not only solutions for immediate problems are established, but also sustainability of diabetes management is upheld.
Application of Goal attainment Theory to Diabetes Patient Education
King’s goal attainment theory emphasizes the goals that define the relationship between the nurse and the patient. The basic assumption that was held by King when developing the theory was that both nurses and patients interact with each other as human beings and as open systems that can also readily interact with the environment (Alligood, 2010). As such, one could conclude that the conceptual framework of the theory was derived from three systems that dynamically interact, including persona, social, and interpersonal. As such, the important concepts of the theory include perception, transaction, communication, interaction, role, self, stress, development, growth, personal space, and time. According to King, the nurse and the patient both bring information and knowledge of importance to the relationship that they establish between them, and they collaborate in ensuring that set goals are achieved (Caceres, 2015). King’s theory of goal attainment forms a highly effective framework based on which nursing education can be carried out. The main goal of nursing involves achieving, restoring, or maintaining of good health to allow the patients to attain the highest potential of living each day. Through the application of the goal attainment theory in educating diabetic patients about how to manage their conditions, the nurse is able to engage the patient in an interactive way that would ensure that they establish mutual goals of not only the education process but the disease management process, towards which they work.
Both the nurse and the patient contribute important information that could be used in solving the patient’s problems. The nurse is able to guide the patient in an interactive way through a psychoanalytical process that ensures that the patient opens up to the nurse concerning issues that could affect their adherence to the self-management regime and the various areas of weakness in terms of knowledge on the management of diabetes. This allows the nurse to come up with a structure of knowledge that is to be disseminated to the client in an interactive way, thus allowing for maximum benefit from the interactive process and effective outcomes. King’s goal attainment theory thus allows the nurses to ensure that the patient plays a role in their own care process and hence upholds the basic principle of patient-based care (de Leon-Demare, MacDonald, Gregory, Katz, & Halas, 2015). It is argued that in cases where the patients are involved in their own care process, there are increased chances of compliance with the treatment regime. By allowing the patient to set goals that would guide them throughout the care process, achievable and measurable can be easily established and enforced.
Just like the theory is highly effective in the other nursing roles including patient assessment, documentation, and intervention, it is a significant tool in the structuring of patient education in a way that will ensure that the areas of great need for the patient are well addressed. One ethical concern in the application of the goal attainment theory and primary health care involves confidentiality (Runyan, Robinson, & Gould, 2013). It is important to note that throughout the process of interactive patient education, the patient is able to open up to the nurse and reveal important private information that they believe could help in solving their problems. Such information is provided based on the trust that the client has built in the nurse and they expect such information to be protected and kept confidential. It is hence the role of the nurse to ensure that they uphold confidentiality when interacting with the patients and to share information with other health professionals only after receiving consent from the patients.
Conclusion
It is clear that the
issue of nursing education of diabetic patients is of great importance
especially given that the information gained through nurse-patient interaction
could be the foundation for overcoming the challenges of self-management. The
King’s theory of Goal Attainment provides a different facet through which the
issue of patient education can be followed. The theory offers nurses a framework
based on which they can engage the patients through an interactive way in the
identification of their information and knowledge needs and hence initiating
dissemination of such knowledge and information to facilitate proper management
of diabetes. Together, the nurses and the patient are able to set education
goals based on the patient needs and meet such needs through both contributing
information towards their relationship that could be used to fill the
pre-determined gaps in knowledge. Nevertheless, it is important for the nurse
to ensure that he or she upholds confidentiality of the patient information and
that the patient is able to develop full trust in the care process and the
education intervention.
References
Ahtisham, Y., & Jacoline, S. (2015). Integrating Nursing Theory and Process into Practice; Virginia’s Henderson Need Theory. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 8(2), 443-450.
Alligood, M. R. (2010). Family healthcare with King’s theory of goal attainment. Nursing Science Quarterly, 23(2), 99-104.
Caceres, B. A. (2015). King’s Theory of Goal Attainment: Exploring Functional Status. Nursing Science Quarterly, 28(2), 151-155.
de Leon-Demare, K., MacDonald, J., Gregory, D. M., Katz, A., & Halas, G. (2015). Articulating nurse practitioner practice using King’s theory of goal attainment. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 27(11), 631-636.
Levich, B. R. (2011). Diabetes management: optimizing roles for nurses in insulin initiation. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 4, 15–24.
Runyan, C., Robinson, P., & Gould, D. A. (2013). Ethical issues facing providers in collaborative primary care settings: Do current guidelines suffice to guide the future of team based primary care? Families, Systems & Health: The Journal of Collaborative Family HealthCare, 31(1), 1-8.
Wu, S.-F. V., Tung, H.-H., Liang, S.-Y., Lee, M.-C., & Yu, N.-C. (2014). Differences in the perceptions of self-care, health education barriers and educational needs between diabetes patients and nurses. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 46(2), 187-196.
