Introduction
Nursing theories help nurses to better understand what they need to do during their work. There are several levels of them based on their abstraction levels: from meta paradigms and grand theories to conceptual frameworks and middle-level theories. I think theories are essential for efficient nursing practice, so I pay attention to developing my theoretical background. I use concepts from various theories, uniting them to cover as many nursing practice areas as possible.
Components of Nursing Knowledge
Several levels of nursing knowledge depict the hierarchy of theories, from the most abstract ones to specific middle-level theories. The first level is a metaparadigm, which works with four components: person, health, environment, and nursing (Alligood, 2018). All nursing theories of all levels are based on these four components but have different aims. Grand theories define and describe various nursing concepts, create a background for all nursing activity, and a basis for nursing research (Roy, 2018). Conceptual models include a range of concepts that nurses may use to implement their knowledge more efficiently (Smith, 2020). Middle-level theories are more precise, modeling situations of nursing practice and including specific actions that nurses can perform to improve their patients’ conditions.
To evaluate and criticize the theory, one can use five components: clarity, simplicity, generality, accessibility, and importance. Clarity means the correct and precise term usage, theory’s coherence, and consistency, which enable nurses to perceive it easily (Alligood, 2018). Simplicity includes the ability to easily remember a theory, which is crucial as nurses should use it in practice day by day, often in hard conditions. Generality shows how many aspects of nursing are covered by a theory. Accessibility indicates how a theory corresponds to empirical data, while importance reveals how actual it is (Alligood, 2018). To decide which elements of which theory I should use, I can apply these five components and ask myself various questions (Smith, 2020). Answers should provide an analysis of my practice, personal interests, abilities, experience, and resources.
A Nursing Grand Theory
A grand theory is the level of nursing philosophy: it describes which approach the nurse should follow to help their patients best. Florence Nightingale is a 19th-century nun who is considered a pioneer in nursing. Her modern nursing theory focuses on empirical data about the nursing environment and using all available medical resources to cure patients and help them recover (Smith, 2020). Jean Waston developed a theory of transpersonal caring based on various nurse-patient relationships, which are important for patient relief and, thus, should be maintained (Alligood, 2018). I find those two theories as the main source of my own theoretical background. It should be based on evaluating empirical facts in my practice and establishing strong connections with my patients, giving them hope and relief.
A Theoretical Model
Nursing conceptual models and theories are two interconnected components of nursing knowledge, which have a lower abstraction level than grand theories; I believe they can be reviewed together. The conceptual model develops concepts that describe important nursing processes and interactions, such as care, adaptation, mediation, patient, and health (Roy, 2018). Martha Rogers’ unitary human being theory synthesizes anthropology, medicine, and spirituality, depicting individuals as a complex system of energy flows that correspond to their conditions and experiences (Alligood, 2018; Smith, 2020). I find this concept interesting, as it is highly universal, enabling nurses to see a patient as a complex system with various needs to fulfill.
A Middle-Range Theory
Middle-range theories provide specific, narrow models to implement nursing principles into practice. Many of them are dedicated to describing a set of processes and actions important for the practice. For example, the transition theory develops a network of patients’ transitions between places such as home and hospital, focusing on their personal experience and the context around them (Smith, 2020). A comfort theory works with various types of comfort: physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural, and environmental. It defines three stages of comfort: relief when one feels no pain but still has some needs; ease when one is calm and satisfied; and transcendence when one is free from all problems (Alligood, 2018). I find those concepts useful for my theoretical background, as my first goal is to provide an excellent and comfortable experience for my patients. Therefore, I can use the transition model to evaluate the experience of my patients and comfort theory to measure their comfort on all levels and do everything to increase it.
Conclusion: A Theory-Practice Relationship
Therefore, I would like to include elements from various theories in my own nursing worldview to make it robust, efficient, and easy to implement. I use four categories, person, health, environment, and nursing, to figure out this theory, and five criteria, clarity, simplicity, generality, accessibility, and importance, to evaluate it. All components of nursing knowledge, from metaparadigm to middle-level theories, will be useful for my future practice of helping patients. An abstract metaparadigm shows four basic elements of each nursing theory: person, health, environment, and nursing process. For me, they are the basis of my nursing practice: I use concepts from Nightingale’s modern theory and Watson’s transpersonal theory to formulate my own model. Nursing, for me, is the art and science of helping people, and that’s why I perceive my patients holistically, inspired by Rogers’ theory, treating them as living systems whose conditions should be improved. Transition and comfort theories are essential, too, as they explore the patients’ states, comfort, and experience, enabling the nurse to provide the best possible conditions for them.
References
Alligood, M. (2018). Nursing theorists and their work (9th ed.). Elsevier.
Roy, C. (2018). Key issues in nursing theory. Nursing Research, 67(2), 81–92. Web.
Smith, M. C. (2020). Nursing theories and nursing practice (5th ed.). Davis.