Essay Example on Nursing Theory Tonia L Rossano Indian River State College

Nursing Theory Tonia L Rossano Indian River State College The development of nursing theory is something that began many years ago has evolved greatly and still has much room to grow There are many types of theories such as grand nursing theories middle range theories and practice theories each theory is beneficial in different ways The development of nursing has been progressive over time with a multitude of contributors and shifting focus This paper will discuss the evolution of nursing theory different types of theory used in nursing and how theory is beneficial to the nursing practice Evolution of Nursing The stages of nursing theory development are the silent stage received knowledge subjective knowledge procedural knowledge constructed knowledge and currently integrated knowledge McEwen Wills 2014 Theory in nursing dates to as early as the 1850s with Florence Nightingale a time when nursing was first becoming a profession with standards and educational criteria to be met The time of Nightingale is in the silent stage a time where nursing education included scant theory McEwen Wills 2014 During the received knowledge stage of theory development university education was growing as opposed to the previous hospital apprenticeship training for nurses Books on research methods and explicit theories of nursing began to appear McEwen Wills 2014 p 30 The subjective knowledge stage was a time when leaders in nursing made efforts to define the purpose of nursing 

The use of nursing theories can help to create a healthy professional environment for patients and health care practitioners by helping to guide our practice Theory promotes research and information that may translate and apply to better patient outcomes Theory helps to enhance nurse s knowledge and supports the practice of nursing Having consistent structured decision making processes in place benefits nurses and patients alike Matney et al 2016 Theory guided practice elevates the work of nurses leading to fulfillment satisfaction and a professional model of practice Smith Liehr 2014 p 15 Nursing theory and application has evolved over time helping to create a better nursing practice and profession The evolution of theory in nursing is continuing theory in nursing has been crucial to progress in the profession and will continue to be Each type of theory has benefits for acquiring and applying knowledge to the nursing practice Both nurses and patients benefit from application of theory in practice References Matney S Avant K Staggers N October 30 2015 Toward an Understanding of Wisdom in Nursing OJIN The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol 21 No 2 DOI 10 3912 OJIN Vol21No01PPT02 McEwen M Wills E 2014 Theoretical basis for nursing 4th ed Philadelphia PA Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams Wilkins Smith M Liehr P 2014 Middle range theory for nursing 3rd ed New York NY Springer Publishing Company LLC Retrieved from https books google com books hl en lr id 7iFW6dUS3jMC oi fnd pg PP1 dq middle range theory for nursing third edition ots CA5NMuelr X sig jwQwvMv3L 1gZZzQgEn_h8UpAIg v onepage q middle 20range 20theory 20for 20nursing 20third 20edition f false