When caring for patients, nurses constantly rely not just on their own personal experience and knowledge but also on nursing theories to make the right decisions. Across the field, numerous theories govern how nurses care for patients, explain certain events, and even grow professionally.
Whether you’re already in the nursing field or have plans to become a nurse, it is essential to understand the basis of nursing theories and their purposes.
Understanding Nursing Theories
Exactly what are nursing theories, anyway? In simplest terms, nursing theories refer to bodies of knowledge that help inform and inspire nursing policies and procedures. Specific theories are used to guide nursing practice, ensuring that all patients have the chance to receive the same level of care regardless of where (or by whom) they are treated.
The Evolution and Significance of Nursing Theories
It wasn’t until the late 1800s that a renewed focus on nursing education led to some of the first nursing theories emerging in the field. Many would agree that Florence Nightingale’s “Environmental Theory” of 1860 was among the first proposed theories in the field, referring to an act of using a patient’s surroundings to aid in their care.
Core Objectives of Nursing Theories in Healthcare
There are various objectives of nursing theories in healthcare, starting with the key purpose of differentiating the field of nursing from other areas of medicine. Likewise, nursing theories are meant to provide structure for different aspects of nursing, such as:
- Assessment
- Interventions
- Evaluating patient outcomes
Delving Into the Metaparadigm of Nursing
When it comes to understanding nursing theory, it is also critical to understand the nursing metaparadigm, or the idea that there are four key concepts essential to nursing theory: person, environment, health, and nursing.
Person: Centering Care on the Individual
In nursing theory, the person is the individual receiving care. When providing care to a person, it is crucial for nurses to adopt a holistic view of the person that takes into consideration physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Environment: The Impact of Surroundings on Care
Many nursing theories also factor in the environment’s influence on health, recovery, and healthcare access—including the context and conditions of one’s surrounding physical, economic, social, and cultural aspects.
Health: Defining Wellness in Nursing
Nursing theories maintain a tailored focus on the idea of health, but this doesn’t mean looking only at physical wellness. Rather, health in nursing theory should integrate the broader concept of comprehensive wellness to encompass emotional and social well-being.
Nursing: The Art and Science of Caring
Additionally, nursing theories portray the full range of the nurse’s roles and responsibilities, highlighting these professionals as compassionate individuals with technical expertise and the ability to engage in a therapeutic relationship with patients.
Key Components and Structure of Nursing Theories
Nursing theories consist of different building blocks and key components that define and set them apart from other theories.
Phenomena in Nursing
Phenomena in nursing refer to temporary or permanent responses to specific events or situations in which nurses may find themselves on the job. Some examples of phenomena that nursing theories often address include pain, healing, and grief.
Concepts Vital to Nursing Practices
Meanwhile, concepts in nursing theory are words or phrases used to describe a phenomenon. These concepts can be abstract (constructed mentally) or concrete (physically experienced or witnessed in the field).
Definitions and Terminology in Nursing Theory
All nursing theories must include clear definitions of the terms used within them as well. This helps ensure theories are consistent and that there is a shared understanding of them among nursing professionals.
The Role of Relational Statements
Another core component of any nursing theory is the relational statement, which defines relationships between different concepts in a logical way and adds credibility to nursing theory.
Assumptions Underpinning Nursing Theories
All nursing theories draw on assumptions, or universal beliefs that have been accepted as truth throughout the entire nursing practice. Assumptions can be stated implicitly or explicitly, reflecting on the overall structure of a theory.
The Purpose and Impact of Nursing Theories
There’s no overstating the importance of nursing theories when it comes to providing consistent, informed nursing care. In fact, there are numerous ways in which nursing theories shape the profession as a whole and directly influence healthcare delivery.
Guiding Academic Discipline and Curriculum
First, nursing theories can inform nursing education considerably, influencing how and what nurses are taught in school. In this sense, nursing theories can guide entire academic disciplines and affect what kinds of classes are taught as part of a nursing program. Within individual classes, these theories may also influence the kinds of topics, assignments, and discussions covered on a regular basis.
Fostering Research for Evidence-Based Practice
Another key way in which nursing theories impact the field is by providing research for evidence-based practice. More specifically, these theories can guide and inspire research endeavors in the field, which can ultimately contribute to improvements in nursing practices overall.
Shaping Professional Identity and Ethics
Nursing theories can also help define the values of the nursing profession at large, contributing to a shared sense of nursing identity and ethical practice. This is especially notable when you consider that nursing wasn’t always considered an academic discipline. Today, nursing theories may be used to help nurses build a sense of identity while making their everyday contributions visible.
A Comparative Analysis of Nursing Theories
As a nurse (or aspiring nurse), you need to be able to perform a comparative analysis of nursing theories as a means of comparing and contrasting their different components and understanding how you might apply them to your own work. There are a variety of ways to go about this, as described below.
By Abstraction Level: From Grand to Practice Theories
Nursing theories can be categorized based on their level of abstraction, ranging from practice-level and middle-range to grand theories. Practice-level theories tend to be more specific and applicable to real-life situations, whereas broad nursing theories tend to be more abstract in nature and meant to provide a more general framework.
Goal Orientation: The Driving Forces of Nursing Theories
Nursing theories can be categorized based on their goals. A theory may be:
- Descriptive – Describing phenomena without specific guidance for action.
- Explanatory – A type of descriptive theory that aims to explain relationships between phenomena.
- Predictive – A nursing theory that aims to predict the potential outcomes of different actions in response to a phenomenon.
- Prescriptive – A nursing theory where specific nursing interventions or actions for a phenomenon are addressed.
Innovative Approaches in Classifying Nursing Theories
In addition to abstraction and goal orientation, some other innovative approaches and methods can be used to classify nursing theories. Many of these have emerged as the field has evolved. Examples include:
- Outcome theories
- Interaction theories
- Needs-based theories
Celebrated Nursing Theorists and Their Contributions
Over the years, many notable people have contributed valuable insights to nursing theory.
Pioneers in Nursing Theory: Nightingale to Benner
Some examples of nursing theories and key early nursing theorists have included:
- Florence Nightingale – In 1860, Nightingale pioneered what is considered today the first nursing theory, known as the Environmental Theory.
- Virginia Henderson – Henderson developed the famous Nursing Need Theory, centered on improving the patient’s level of independence to help them achieve their goals and enhance progress.
- Hildegard Peplau – Peplau created the Theory of Interpersonal Relations in nursing, which has helped nurses and other healthcare providers implement more therapeutic interventions for patients.
- Patricia Benner – Benner focused on the theory that nurses do not have consistent and uniform relationships with each patient but must instead tailor and personalize care based on different human needs.
Contemporary Voices in Nursing Theory
There’s no denying that nursing theorists in the 1800s and 1900s have contributed significantly to the field—but even today, modern-day contemporary voices continue to make a difference with their own nursing theories and ideas in healthcare. In fact, some of the most influential nurses of the past decade have been women such as:
- Lauren Underwood – This United States Congresswoman and registered nurse from Illinois focuses on healthcare policy and advocacy for health equity.
- Jean Watson – This renowned nursing theorist and professor is celebrated for her groundbreaking “Theory of Human Caring,” a cornerstone of caring science in nursing. This approach emphasizes a holistic method to patient care, focusing on the well-being of the whole person.
- Loretta Ford – This pioneering nurse co-founded the first nurse practitioner program in the U.S. at the University of Colorado, significantly advancing the role of nurses in healthcare.
- Jane Cummings – This prominent British nurse served as the Chief Nursing Officer for England and led numerous initiatives to improve nursing standards and patient care quality, including the “6Cs of nursing” that outline core values for RNs in the UK.
Interested in an Online RN to BSN Program?
Working in nursing demands a solid understanding of common nursing theories and their key ideas. From there, you can leverage these theories to improve your own nursing practice while informing your nursing process, interpersonal relations, and other everyday care decisions.
Looking to further your education as an RN? It may be time to go for your Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. At Nevada State University, we’re proud to offer an RN to BSN online program that you can complete at your own pace—typically within just five semesters. Reach out to learn more about this program, or get started filling out your online application today.