Theory, Professionalism, and Empowerment
Knowledge and theory are among the most critical aspects of nursing. The theory defines the general nursing knowledge, scope of practice and guides the actions of the nurses. The application of nursing theories helps nurses in the following ways.
It helps guide the framework of thinking and action, communication with patients, colleagues, and other stakeholders. The theory also allows nurses to understand their roles and develop knowledge through research and applying the evidence. Theories provide a scientific reason to act in a particular manner during service delivery. Nursing theories include patient management, addressing dilemmas, and improvement of professionalism (Indra, 2018).
At personal levels, the nursing theory would be critical to me in the following ways. It helps me in the provision of care by guiding my actions. Also, nursing theories are essential for furthering research (Gaines, 2020). For instance, I can use nursing theory on mental health to conduct further research to inform practice. Theories are essential in the application of evidence. Evidence-based practices require some to use mid-range theories to bridge grand theories and the practice (Smith, 2020). My answer has expanded over the weeks to include a broader scope of nursing. Nursing theories are many, but each has a particular aspect it addresses.
Some of the essential mid-range theories are the quality of nursing practice theory and the theory of guided practice. A practical nurse needs to apply skills and knowledge during service delivery. As a result, the nurse needs to be effective, efficient, ethical, and considerate to ensure that the quality of care is high (Saleh, 2018).
Nurses should also ensure that the services offered are ethical and in line with nursing principles, such as beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice. Nurses should strive to improve the quality of services.
