Assignment Task:
Post Replies
WHAT: REPLY to the TWO Discussion Posts
FORMAT: APA with In-text Citation and Reference List
REFERENCES: TWO Peer-Reviewed references minimum within last 5 years
INCLUDE: Turnitin Report
ReTho
Discussion Post Reply #1
Direction of Nursing Practice in the 21st Century'
As an advanced practice nurse (APN), integrating middle-range or situation-specific theories into practice becomes paramount for enhanced patient outcomes. The theories serve as a template for understanding clinical scenarios and guiding interventions for individual patients. A perfect example of such a theory for use in primary healthcare practice is 'Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (SCDNT)' (Yip, 2021). The theory focuses on assessing patients' capacity for self-care and implementing the necessary interventions. With such theories, APNs can streamline their decision-making and promote patient-centered practice. Utilizing nursing theories in AP practice also ensures a systematic approach toward practice, and treatment plans and assessments can be performed with some degree of standardization.
Bridging the gap between practice and theory must be multidimensional. Incorporating evidence-based practice (EBP) into practice ensures nursing interventions are research and proven methods (Almutlak et al., 2023). In addition to experience, mentors and clinical preceptorship facilitate translating classroom knowledge into practice.
Fostering a culture of professional and continuing learning keeps nurses updated with new theories and their effective utilization in practice. Besides, incorporating informatics and computer utilization in nursing practice strengthens data collection, which nursing theories can feed into and substantiate.
Studying nursing philosophy has expanded my understanding of the discipline's foundational concepts, such as the importance of empiric knowledge confirmation in practice. I have also widened my understanding of nursing theory and its contribution to patient care, research, and policy. I had been interested in understanding theoretical practice, and I did it by researching various nursing models and integrating them into practice. I also learned about the significance of theory improvement and adaptation to changing healthcare needs. The knowledge has confirmed the significance of evidence-based nursing and ongoing professional development, and I can continue being a competent and knowledgeable practitioner. Need Assignment Help?
KriJo
Discussion Post Reply #2
Before advanced practice nurses can integrate mid-range or situation-specific theories into practice, they must first be familiar with the theories. This class has been a great introduction to theories. A spreadsheet or poster would be good to list many of them and a summary of each theory. Addressing specific patient needs will help to identify what theory would be most useful, for example, incorporating Kolcaba's Comfort Theory for a patient needing palliative care. I am partial to Jean Watson so I feel every patient would benefit from the Theory of Human Caring or Swanson's Theory of Caring to build trusting nurse-patient relationships.
Three ways to bridge the theory-practice gap:
1. We are actively participating in one of the ways to bridge the gap by attending a Nurse Theory class.
2. In a clinical setting, having a poster or having easy access to different theories and theorists would be beneficial to be able to apply appropriate theories per patient's needs.
3. Organizational support would help with consistency in using theories to improve patient care.
A repertoire is a skill set or knowledge and in the context of philosophy I have gained in-depth knowledge of one theorist, and familiarity with many theories. My comfort level is high for applying the Theory of Human Caring in practice. My comfort level is higher than it was for applying any other theory.
Leaning about theory can improve patient care and outcomes. For every patient situation, a theory can be applied that will assist with care delivery, critical thinking, decision making, involvement of patients in the treatment plan, strengthening the nurse-patient relationships, improving communication, and providing better outcomes for patients (Gains, 2024).
In the opening discussion, my goals were to gain a foundation on what nursing theory is, to be able to recognize nursing theorists, and to stay on top of assignments so as to not get overwhelmed with the number of assignments due for this class. I am happy to report that I achieved all my goals. My previous knowledge of nursing theory consisted only of Florence Nightingale's Environmental Theory and the importance of hand washing and a clean environment. Nightingale's Notes on Nursing sets the premise on basing nursing practice on observation of the sick and their environment (Chinn & Kramer, 2011). Now I know that nursing theories guide nursing practice and influence nurse-patient relationships and interactions. I have a comfortable base of theoretical knowledge and enhanced skills on theory research to find what might be best applicable in each situation. The third goal of staying on top of assignments was attained as evidenced by not being late on any assignments and usually finishing them with time to spare and focus on other classes. I was initially overwhelmed with having to read a whole book on top of other assignments, but I enjoyed the book and the psychology related to it. The excessive case load made this my least favorite class at times.
Sometimes I hated this class. But what I learned will be beneficial and applicable to my practice as a nurse practitioner, so in the end it was worth it.