The Importance of Nursing Theory in Practice: Reflections and Applications

Nursing Theory and Practice: Student Perspectives

. For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least two scholarly citations in addition to the Bible in APA format. Each reply must incorporate at least one scholarly citation(s) in APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, and scholarly articles. This is Christian University so include Bible verse and meaning.These are the questions each student had to answer. YHow has your view of nursing theory, practice, and nursing knowledge changed because of this course? Based on what you have learned in this course, how will you apply nursing theory to your career? How would you respond if a colleague were to ask you, “Why is nursing theory important to practice?” Student 1 My view of nursing theory has been expanded and my appreciation for theory has grown through this course. I absolutely believe that we practice out of our personal or corporate nursing theory even if we do not recognize that is what we are doing. I began nursing before the phrase “evidenced based practice” was utilized. Understanding that we need to have a groundwork of data and confirmation that underpins the interventions, ideas, and structures of nursing tasks helps me value and appreciate even the more mundane aspects of nursing care. I am constantly attempting to see if there are more effective or complete tools that can be utilized to do the job at hand. I also look for the “why” behind the task to make sure it fits with what I am attempting to do. I am a nurse who attempts to incorporate “neighboring”, like the Good Samaritan, in my daily practice. As healthcare moves into more ambulatory care settings it will be important for each nurse to look for ways to incorporate the aspect of care, concern, and compassion that embody the parable. Often, we get set in our ways and find it hard to see beyond our shift, our job, and our responsibilities. Especially during the pandemic when it is so hard to keep up with the ever-changing conditions and roles that we need to take on at work and in our family, we must remember that much of the care for patients is happening outside of the hospital. We may end up having an effective ministry right in our neighborhood as we get to care for and understand the people around us (Shelly et al,. 2011). Being a nurse, we often get to assess cuts, rashes, fevers, coughs, and tick bites before a doctor is needed. This is how we can love others, by sharing our love for Jesus through serving the people God has brough into our path (Shelly et al,. 2011). This may or may not be in our actual occupational setting. We do not have to cut off our kindness, compassion, and therapeutic interventions just because we are no longer at work. That’s the beautiful part of being a Christian nurse. We take our world view and theory with us wherever we go! As Jesus reminds us, “‘Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘the one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go and do likewise’” (English Standard Version, 2001, Luke 10:36-37). This type of care puts our caring framework, our patient centered model of care, and our nursing theory into practice in all aspects of our life. I think that nursing theory is important to practice because it gives us the tools to make good decisions, answer questions and understand the path forward when dealing with complex and complicated situations. This helps me be more efficient and gives space for critical thinking, compassion, and caring. This week I had a difficult conversation with a patient who sustained a complicated fracture that needed surgical repair. I discussed with him that we wanted to get some plans in place for help at home after surgery. He stated that he was going to go to rehab since he did not have help at home. I explained that local inpatient rehab is not an option right now as we have no beds available in our area. In truth he really did not believe me. I explained our COVID cases, staff shortages, and all the reasons this was happening. He did not want to bother his children with getting their help at home. Once I explained that right now patients were being transported 7 hours away for rehab and that was likely the closest option for him, he understood that we needed to make a plan that would work. He settled on a plan that would involve family members, home health, the neighbor’s son, and getting some equipment before his surgery in two days’ time. He was very frustrated at first until I explained that I would help him sort out the assistance he would need and get prescriptions for the equipment all sent over so they could be delivered. He was much more amenable to the idea once he realized I was willing to help. Understanding the needs in the outpatient setting, sorting out resources, helping people plan and feel that they are not abandoned by the healthcare system is important. This fits in with the vision that is presented in chapter 23 on the future of nursing. It is a different type of nursing but makes the plan of care work for the patient. For instance, if a diabetic has the best treatment as an inpatient but goes home without a glucometer, insulin, or diabetic diet plan that they can use the treatment was ineffective. We need to start looking at ways to keep people healthy and out of the hospital. I agree with our textbook that this is the future of nursing and will take innovation, hard work, and different ways of looking at disease management (McEwen et al., 2019). As a home health nurse, I had multiple patients with chest tubes, complex drains, stents, catheters, pumps, ventilators, wound vacs, multiple IV antibiotics, and TPN. These are all things that I felt would always require inpatient management when I was a new nurse, had I even considered that they would be handled at home. It is truly amazing the things that lay people can be taught to manage with oversight and assistance. This vc is why it is important to continue to learn, grow, research, and discover the best evidenced based practice and put it into use. Nursing must adapt and change to meet the needs in the various arenas, settings, and places that require our specialized care, compassion, and skill. English Standard Version, (2001). English Standard Version Online. https://www.esv.org/ McEwen, M., & Wills, E., (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer. Shelly, J., & Miller, A. (2006). Called to care: a Christian worldview for nursing. (2nd ed). InterVarsity PressStudent 2 This course has had an impact on my understanding of nursing theory and my nursing practice. This course was more of a self-discovery for me. I didn’t realize just how much Florence Nightingale has guided me in my current consulting nursing practice and previous infection control practice without a theoretical title. During one of the first projects in this course, I read the journal article "The Living Tree of Nursing Theories" (Tourville & Ingalls, 2003). The “Living Tree of Nursing Theories” helped to be a guiding concept in my day-to-day nursing work. The sturdy and robust trunk of this living tree represents Florence Nightingale, who is recognized with being the first nursing theorist; she thought, as I do, that nurses should be well-educated and practice autonomously (Tourville & Ingalls, 2003). My spiritual views and everyday nursing practice of caring for my patients fits well with Florence Nightingale's idea of caring for the entire person - body, mind, and spirit with compassion as an important component of nursing. As the journal described, unlike a dead tree, a live tree of nursing theories has broad and powerful roots, and it can draw strength from the history of nursing. As the field of nursing has progressed, it has undergone a number of philosophical transformations. It is possible to create a visual representation of major nursing theories by using a virtual tree. Nightingale’s Environmental Theory embraces the concept of human dignity as a core reality. This model intends to give a framework for nurses to investigate the impact of four major meta-paradigms: human, environmental, and nursing determinants on health, particularly in at-risk groups are located at the base of the tree's root system (Sher & Akhtar, 2018). Nursing's future is always changing, and we must accept the changes that come with it. According to Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens,” (New International Bible, 1978/2011). Five significant health-care problems that the future of nursing will confront have been recognized by the Institute of Medicine. Chronic illnesses, an aging population, a population that is very diverse, health inequalities, and a decline in English language competence are all factors to consider (McEwen & Wills, 2019). Each of these variables has an impact on how we provide care to our patients. Despite these obstacles, incorporating nursing theory into practice may help us achieve our objectives of delivering safe, effective, and high-quality care to patients. Prior to this course, I had only heard of a few theorists and their work. Throughout the course, I was able to get better acquainted with a variety of theories and their implementation in practice. Nursing theories offer guidance for planning and evaluating patient outcomes, as well as conducting research. (Schaffer, et al., 2017). I'll continue to incorporate evidence-based practice into my own nursing practice in addition to theory. This is the key to providing patients with the kind of treatment that has been shown to result in good results. Because most evidence-based practice is driven by nursing theory, it is my goal as a future educator to inspire students and help them in becoming competent nurses by teaching theory and evidence-based practice. As a future instructor, I want to concentrate on competency-based curriculum and encourage them to be lifelong learners as evidenced-based practice evolves (McEwen & Wills, 2019). I want to be a backbone in the nursing field in the future, and I'm grateful for everything I've learned in this course to help me get there. If a colleague asked me how I incorporate nursing theory into my practice, I would say that I have always done so, but now that I have more information from this course, I can do it more deliberately and with effort rather than passively. It's possible that not all nurses use theory in the same manner or believe in the same ideas as others. Nursing theory is critical for the practice of nursing to continue to grow and develop. Nursing theories help people comprehend the profession's principles, values, and meanings. They are used to guide nursing care assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Nursing theory aids nurses in describing, explaining, and anticipating daily events. Better patient care, increased professional standing for nurses, improved communication amongst nurses, and direction for research and education are all advantages of having a clear body of theory in nursing. We must utilize our knowledge and faith to lead us in selecting ideas that we believe in and that will guide us through patient care so that we can offer what our patients need (Schaffer, et al., 2017).