Nursing Theory

Write 1-2 paragraphs reflecting on your experience as you continue your journey to achieve your MSN and become a nurse practitioner and post to this discussion board.   RESPOND  What were the most important concepts you learned in week 1? Why are these concepts important? How will they prepare you for your future role as a nurse practitioner? In what ways do you feel prepared for your new role? In what ways do you feel unprepared? Theory provides the basis, or framework, of the nursing profession and helps to identify the unique qualities of the profession. Iskandarani, Al Hammadi, and Al Gizani (2012) stated nursing theory defines the meaning of nursing profession, provides understating to role performance of a nurse, and provides knowledge for practice Without theory to explain the focus of the nursing profession, the profession may lose direction and its understanding of new knowledge to build upon the discipline. Theory provides the structure of nursing practice and a method for collecting and analyzing data to explore, describe, and predict nursing practice (Parker & Smith, 2015). Furthermore, theory provides nurses with a systematic means of challenging and supporting intuition. Theories make nursing practice meaningful by identifying the process of practice, as well as linking those processes with outcomes of care (Parker & Smith, 2015).   Image Description Why does theory have a role in a practice profession such as nursing? Let’s go back to our original discussion of nursing being a noun and/or a verb. Even in this current century, there are individuals who believe that nursing should focus only on following physician’s orders and helping people and that it is not a unique profession but rather a trade. Often, these individuals focus solely on the verb function of nursing and identify that theory has no role or benefit at the bedside of a patient. This is represented in the picture to the right. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. A practice profession is more than a sum of its interventions. Within the midst of the Information Age, professional nurses are knowledge workers, using knowledge and evidence to influence and enhance decision-making (Nagle & Yetman, 2009) in both clinical and nonclinical settings. If professional nursing actions were limited to a list of specific interventions or orders, the art of nursing would be missing. Nursing theory tells us that the profession of nursing is not just a verb or a noun- it is both. Previous Next