Nursing Theory Development

Nursing Theory

Hundreds of nursing students before and hundreds that will come after me will find themselves in the same position I am now in, which is to write a paper about how the stages of nursing theory development impact nursing theory. On the surface, it does not appear to be a difficult assignment; however, if the importance of nursing theory has not been justified to the nursing student, the task suddenly becomes quite overwhelming.

Stages of Nursing Theory Development

Before beginning a discussion on the stages of nursing theory development, it is important to acknowledge a working definition of nursing theory. According to Karnick (2016), nursing theory is simply a process of putting thoughts and ideas together. It is almost universally

The idea is basically that nurses follow instructions given by physicians without questions (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Nursing was not seen as a separate health care discipline, rather as helpers following orders given to them. Nursing schools followed medical traditions, with most lectures being given by physicians, while skills were taught by nurses (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Focus was typically on tasks, not the development of a nursing based theories or nursing research. This stage remained in the forefront of nursing education until approximately the end of World War II (McEwen & Wills,

One major focus currently in nursing is that of evidence-based practice (Karnick, 2016). Evidence-based practice can be viewed as a way to broach the relevance gap between theory and practice (Risjord, 2010). Translational research, much like evidenced-based practice, seeks to translate research into something useable for the bedside nurse (McEwen & Wills, 2014). With practical applications for nursing research, it is likely that the bedside nurse will become more involved in further developing nursing theory, research and