Nursing is a distinct healthcare field with its own practices and concepts. The distinguishing characteristics that define this discipline are framed by nursing theory. Nursing theory defines the scope of practices including what makes for nursing and responsibilities nurses are usually assigned and why they exist. Nursing theory is also seen as a set of principles and frameworks that guide nursing practice based on research evidence. Nursing theory is crucial as it teaches nurses core care concepts that allow them to explain their role in patient care and reasons for specific actions. Healthcare professionals are thus able to make sound clinical decisions founded on practicality. Therefore, nursing theories are applied to patient care because they help define what nurses do and why they do it.
Nursing theory is of great importance to current practice mainly because it provides a crucial foundation to students and professionals. Some more reasons nursing theories are meaningful is that they give nurses a logical basis for making clinical decisions and provide nursing with guidance that leads to the formulation of quality policies and best practices. Theories also help nurses analyze and assess patient care, help nursing professionals develop a deeper understanding of their role and purpose in healthcare settings, and ensure best practices are always being followed. Further, these theories give nurses an identity that distinguishes them from practitioners in the medical field and help other healthcare personnel and patients recognize the important contributions nurses make.
Researchers have made explorations into the importance of these theories. Younas and Quennell (2019) examined experimental studies to determine the usefulness and extent to which nursing theories were used to guide practice. The researchers were motivated by the preference of evidence-based practice in the modern era of patient care. The team conducted an integrative review of 35 studies to determine the impact theory-guided practice had on improving the stress, self-care, self-efficacy, and quality of life of patients with psychological, cardiac, acute and chronic illnesses. The researchers found that a vast majority of the studies found theory-guided interventions useful in improving the patient outcomes under examination. These findings show that nursing theory-guided interventions have a lot of usefulness in modern practice and should be used to inform any decisions and actions nurses may want to make or take.
Nursing theories also have a lot of utility before the planning and provision of patient care. Whichever one a practitioner chooses to use, they can apply it by using it to assess the patient’s condition and identify their needs using the different methods typically featured in every theory (Mudd et al., 2020). Nursing theories feature a number of ways nursing professionals can use to come up with a diagnosis that will inform next steps. In addition, as two patients with the same diagnosis can have different levels of ability, nursing theory can be used to determine their capabilities and weaknesses. Based on the findings, the nurse(s) can determine which professionals to consult in forging a way forward. For example, using Dorothea E. Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory, a nurse would first determine those activities of daily living that make for self-care and identify the ones their patient has problems with and their level of difficulty. With this information, the nurse can then consult nursing assistants and other officials handling the patient and together they can design a suitable plan of care that will ensure the best outcomes.
Nursing is a collaborative effort between the patient and the nurse where the latter gives the former as much autonomy as possible on the path to recovery. Most of the time patients, their close ones, or guardians are able to provide a consistent quality of self-care over the recovery period and nurses should only come in when that is not possible. Besides, patients prefer as much autonomy as possible because often they are more attuned to their needs than an outside party. Orem’s theory fits this view as it helps nurses identify the most crucial aspects of care that should have the highest priority and teaches patients the importance of autonomy over the course of their recovery.
This theory has helped medical professionals design effective plans and provide optimal care to patients. Nurses are now able to identify the aspects of care that should be given the highest priority at any given time and assess their patients’ abilities and weaknesses and teach them about those facets they can take care of (Ali, 2018). The Self-Care Deficit Theory has helped nurses design the best recovery environment for their patients as all parties are aware of the role they play and the extent of their responsibility. In addition, the theory caters to collaboration between professionals so nurses are able to design wholesome plans of care that address all areas possible since they are a result of inputs from multiple sources. The result of basing practice on this theory has been efficient care and improved patient outcomes and satisfaction.
References
Ali, B. H. I. (2018). Application of Orem self care deficit theory on psychiatric patient. Annals of Nursing and Practice, 5(1), 1-3.
Mudd, A., Feo, R., Conroy, T., & Kitson, A. (2020). Where and how does fundamental care fit within seminal nursing theories: A narrative review and synthesis of key nursing concepts. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(19-20), 3652-3666. Web.
Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2019). Usefulness of nursing theory‐guided practice: An integrative review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 33(3), 540-555. Web.