Janice A. Thibodeau (1983), described nursing as a practice-oriented profession. Nursing is a “doing” profession and the development of a theoretical base for nursing practice is required. Since nursing has a wide range of parameters, the method must be structured by the use concepts. The ability to understand concepts and apply them in nursing is advanced by using well-defined models in practice. In order to understand models, it is imperative to understand the concept of paradigm, because the development of a model is based on a certain paradigm (Thibodeau). The purpose if this posting is to define and discuss the relationship of paradigm, model, and theory. Also it will discuss the importance of nursing theory in praxis.
Paradigm is described as the general rules of thumb of a discipline. It offers information regarding the boundaries, essence, and the purpose of the discipline. A paradigm has to be at least implicitly acknowledged by the members of the profession. Hence, every profession has one prevailing paradigm. A nursing paradigm must express the nature, the goals, and the process of nursing. There are four vital components of a nursing paradigm, which are: People, environment, health and nursing. All four must be incorporated in a paradigm to be considered a nursing paradigm (Thibodeau, 1983). The metaparadigm concepts are connected with the four propositions that are written by Donaldson and Crowley as cited in Fawcett and Malinski (1996), the first proposition is person and health, it shapes that the discipline of nursing focuses with the principles and laws that govern life-process, well beings and the optimal functioning of humans. The second proposition stresses about the interaction between people and envir...
... middle of paper ...
...es. Janice Morse (1992) argued that theories are only tools, that facilitate the organization of data and understanding reality. She also mentioned that theories are not fixed and it can be revised and reconstructed and new ones can be developed. Therefore, it needs to be examined; needs to be pursued and it must be tested while still remembering that it is just an idea (Morse). In the article of Rolfe (1993), he stated that theory does not determine practice; rather it is generated from practice. Schon as cited in Rolfe (1993), contend that a practitioner develops situational experiences and continuously expands and modifies it to meet new situations.
In conclusion, Nursing praxis is the combination of theory and practice which contains a continual process of hypothesizing and testing out new ideas, and modifying practice according to the results (Rolfe, 1993).
The purpose of this paper is to define, describe, and explain the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of the author in regard to the philosophy of nursing practice. Philosophy is the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, nature, and meaning of a subject Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, (n.d.). I will address the four concepts of the nursing metaparadigm and the relationships of each as they guide my practice as a nurse. This concept synthesis paper will address the personal nursing autobiography, two practice specific concepts, and a list of propositions and assumption statements that clearly connect the described concepts. Many factors influence the philosophy of nurses and their practice.
Nursing theories developed by scientists provide a framework for the process of establishing nursing as a profession with a specific body of knowledge including nursing language, and nurse is able to communicate inside in and outside of the profession. Theory supports and defines nursing practice and is used in practice situation to provide solution to the problem, provides guidelines in patient’s quality care, and helps to resolve nursing challenges. The benefits of middle-range theories found primarily in the research studies to address particular client population, in education, patient
It is made of concepts which define the discipline and is the most abstract viewpoint of a discipline. The accepted concepts that are universal in all nursing theory are human beings or persons, environment, health and nursing, commonly known as the nursing metaparadigm (p. 90). Fawcett (1984), considers nursing philosophy and knowledge development as the basis of the nursing metaparadigm concepts. They are “central concepts of the discipline” (Fawcett, p. 84) that interact and interrelate. The four metaparadigms must be considered in
Creasia, J., & Friberg, E. (2011). Conceptual foundations: The bridge to professional nursing practice. (5th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Mosby.
Nursing theory is an important part of the nursing profession. Nursing theory serves as a guide to assessment, intervention and evaluation of patient care. Theory provides the basis, or framework, of the nursing profession and helps to show the unique qualities of the profession (Chamberlain College of Nursing, 2015). Nursing is a profession that’s guided by structure, discipline and dedication. Nursing theory provides criteria by
The nursing profession is considered both an art and a science. An example of the science of nursing is the theory and evidence based practice guidelines (EBP), which influence a nurses practice. The art of nursing is fluid of bringing science and patient care into nursing practice. Nurses in all levels of nursing educational programs should study nursing theory. According to Eun-Ok (2015) theory evaluation has declined and it is essential to developing nursing knowledge; which, leads to the development of nursing discipline. Nursing theory should be continually evolving as current health care trends evolve. The best way to accomplish this is through incorporating theory in academia and nursing
Parker M. E., & Smith M. C. (2010). Nursing theories and nursing practice (3rd ed.).
My personal nursing philosophy and fundamental beliefs of nursing using the four meta-paradigms concepts: nature of human beings, health, environment, and nursing. First, I believe that the profession of nursing is all about the nature of human beings as people. Care involves the patient as a whole, not just as a disease process. Second, I believe that health is on the same continuum as illness. Health is more about quality of life. Third, it is also necessary to look beyond the patient to the environment in which he/she lives in. This is important because people come from different backgrounds and have their own story, we cannot separate patients from their environment because they are interrelated. Last, I think that nursing involves being with the individual patient and having an active roll with them. This process of being engaged in meaningful relationships requires we as nurses be actively
Since its establishment as a profession more than a century ago, Nursing has been a source for numerous debates related to its course, methods and development of nursing knowledge. Many nursing definitions and theories have evolved over time. Furthermore it is in a constant process of being redefined.
McIntyre, M. & McDonald, C. (2014). Nursing Philosophies, Theories, Concepts, Frameworks, and Models. In Koizer, B., Erb, G., Breman, A., Snyder, S., Buck, M., Yiu, L., & Stamler, L. (Eds.), Fundamentals of Canadian nursing (3rd ed.). (pp.59-74). Toronto, Canada: Pearson.
Theory has been defined as, “an organized set of assumptions, beliefs, or ideas about particular phenomena in the world (Teater, 2015).” Theory is used to understand and explain possible and perceived instances, behaviors and outcomes (Teater, 2015). Social workers use theory in order to understand, as well as, introduce interventions and solutions to their client’s individual situation. It is important for students entering into the social work profession to have a base knowledge of theories, with basic understanding of their similarities and differences to appropriately apply theory in practice. The theories which will be focused on in this paper include Systems Theory and Cognitive Behavioral Theory.
Creasia, J.L., Frieberg, E.E., (2011) Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice. Fifth Edition. Elsevier Mosby. St Louis, Missouri 63043
A metaparadigm is an overarching framework that provides a comprehensive perspective of a discipline. In nursing, this framework serves to distinguish the profession intellectually, comprising of four concepts which provide a foundation to the content and context of nursing theory and scope of practice (Lee & Fawcett, 2013; Masters, 2014; Schim, Benkert, Bell, Walker, & Danford, 2007). Namely, these foundational concepts are: person, environment, health, and nursing. Hence, the intent of this essay is to describe the four main concepts that make up nursing’s metaparadigm and discuss how they are used in practice, education and research.
Nursing is considered one of the most trusted professions in the world. It is an essential part in the caregiving of sick, injured, and even healthy individuals. Developing a philosophy with any profession is the beginning basis of any practice. The nursing philosophy is usually incorporated from the science of nursing. That is because the field of health care is constantly changing, which causes the need of better competence in the health field of providing caring (Flagg, 2015). With nursing it starts by the science behind it. Then along with knowledge and experiences, that is when the nursing philosophy is developed. Researching differences between new ideas and cultural differences can then expand the viewpoint into a bigger picture.
The metaparadigm encompasses the major philosophical orientations of a discipline, the models and theories that guide research, and the empirical indicators that operationalize theoretical concepts. The purpose or function of the metaparadigm is to summarize the intellectual and social mission of the nursing discipline and place boundaries on the subject matter of that discipline (McEwen & Wills, 2014). The four metaparadigm of the discipline of nursing are person or client, environment, health, and nursing (Parker, 2001). A person or client is the recipient of nursing care. The environment is the internal or external surroundings that affect the client. Health is the degree of wellness or well-being that the client experiences. The nursing concept refers to the attributes and actions