Nursing Theories Flashcards
Nursing’s Metaparadigm
Distinguishes nursing from other professions
Reflects agreement among members of the discipline about the field of nursing
Broad statement declaring disciplinary focus of nursing
All nursing theories are based on metaparadigm
All nurses have some awareness of the metaparadigm
Very general and abstract
Four concepts: nursing, environment, health, and person
–We study the interrelationship of these four concepts
4 factors of nursing metaparadigm
person
nursing
environment
health
nursing’s midparadigm
“Facilitate discovery and practice-related knowledge development through a focused array of theoretical concepts that are less abstract and more specific in scope than the four concepts in the metaparadigm of nursing” (Reed, 2020, p. 39)
Means to stimulate creative thinking that links to theory and practice (Littzen et al., 2020)
Focuses on practicing nurses and is flexible to various nursing settings
It was believed that conceptual models and theories could create mechanisms by which nurses would be socialized into:
a LANGUAGE that communicates their professional convictions;
a MORAL/ETHICAL STRUCTURE that guides their caring actions;
and a means of SYSTEMATIC THINKING about nursing and its practice.
Such conceptual approaches would lead to the development of problem-solving skills and clinical reasoning at an expert level.”
Nursing’s Central Focus
Goal statement for nursing practice
Provides a professional identity
Statement of the services nurses offer
Concepts and their relationships will guide education, practice, & research
what is a theory
A notion or idea that explains experience, interprets observations, describes relationships, and projects outcomes
Mental patterns or frameworks created to help understand and create meaning from our experience, organize and articulate our knowing, and ask questions leading to new insights
An organized coherent set of concepts and their relationships to each other that offers descriptions, explanations, and predictions about phenomena
what is the theory of human caring
the primary concern of nursing is “promoting health, preventing illness, caring for the sick, and restoring health.
what is nursing theory
inductively and/or deductively derived collage of coherent, creative, and focused nursing phenomena that frame, give meaning to, and help explain specific and selective aspects of nursing research and practice
what does nursing theory do
Address phenomena related to nursing, humans, health, and caring
Guide the thinking, knowing, being, and doing of nursing
Define the place of nursing in healthcare
why do we study theory
Promote creative thinking
Understand research procedures (e.g., defining variables)
Socialize into the discipline
Demonstrate that nursing is unique from, and similar to other disciplines
Unearth important research questions
Appreciate science and its role within nursing
Aid in developing “personal philosophy of nursing”
levels of nursing theory (abstract to specific)
metaparadigm
paradigm
grand theory
middle range theories
practice-level theories
global, general framework about factors of a discipline that are the foundation of the discipline. Guides knowledge development
paradigm
focuses on the areas of concern to the discipline
grand theory
broad enough theories for complex situations; used from day-to-day nursing practice and research; more specific than grand theories; derived from grand theories.
middle range theory
developed within a specific patient population; more direct effect on nursing practice; provides framework for nursing interventions and suggested outcomes
practice-level theories
