The Application of Nursing Theory - Assignment Example

Introduction The term “Nursing Theory” is interpreted by nursing and healthcare professionals in several different ways. It may be considered as the knowledge available for health care, others restrict it to a particular set of information, or specific set of practices, and for some it is all of the information available regarding nursing. The application of nursing theory in the real life is often found to be compromised; the reason behind the discrepancy between theory and practice is due to lack of hypothesis testing. Theorists from the field of nursing hypothesize their views, but they do not test the practical application of their proposed hypothesis. For this reason, a wide gap between practice and hypothesis continues to persist in the field of nursing. However, this is not always the case, in certain cases the difference in expected and observed result is due to human error or negligence on the part of professionals. No matter who postulates the theory, or to what background he or she belongs to, there are four basic concepts that are considered essential for every theory of nursing; they include the person, the environment, health, and nursing. Most of the theories attempt to explain the relationships that prevail between these notions and in doing so bring forth ideas that are novel and contributory towards the practice of nursing. Despite the importance of each of the four concepts with regards to nursing theory, the focal point of the nursing theories remains to be “the person". Further, nursing theory can be divided on the basis of generalizability principles. The categories of nursing theories on generalizability are Metatheory, Grand theory, Middle range theory, and Practice Theory. Metatheory can be considered as theory of theory or theories. It focuses on a specific phenomenon of abstract nature. Grand theory provides a conceptual framework, through which principles and concepts of a discipline can be identified. Meanwhile, in Middle range theory, the area of focus is limited or too specific with respect to situation, and variables associated with it. Practice theory is usually applied to determine the goals that are to be achieved in result of a particular practice, and also the mode of attaining these goals. Problem The standards of healthcare continue to transform every now and then as new technology evolves to replace the previous one. Similarly with the emergence of new health related challenges, the need to modify the process of nursing care continues to arise. This is not only important to ensure delivery of optimum care to the patients, but also to prevent the nurses from the deleterious effects of pathologies that continue to challenge their survival and existence on a continuous basis. Therefore the professionals have to update their skills within a small margin of time and on a continuous basis. This adds to the stress of the labor; moreover, it generates a tough competition. Further, it enhances the pressure on the nursing leadership, when it comes to selection of staff, and pointing duties. The leadership of nursing department across different hospitals have to face more or less similar problems, regarding managing their human resource. The work environment is another matter of concern for the leaders in the nursing department. It is very tough to manage the staff in situations that are surrounded by total negativity. This negativity stems primarily from the distressing environment of hospitals where disability and death is on display continuously. Hospitals may be the ideal place to earn a living, but they are not at all good in providing healthy work environment. First of all dealing with patients suffering from anomalies is a tricky job, provided the face that a slight bit of negligence can ruin the whole procedure or may even cost one’s life. Management in this discipline of healthcare is perhaps the toughest, because nurses are the only professionals who are in direct contact with the patients. Despite this close association they are required to maintain a safe distance from their patients, since professional relationship with clients demand this approach. At the same time, nurses are expected to listen to the problems of their clients, which at times may reveal intimate details of their patient’s private lives. The nurses therefore act like a bridge between the patients and the doctors; they are the hands that administer orders given by the doctor. When so many burdens are laid on the shoulders of nursing staff, it is very predictable as a leader of the nursing department to receive complaints regarding their unhappiness with the job. This dissatisfaction may stem from under-compensation, over-work, or a combination of both factors. Moreover, the development of new techniques demands the nurses to upgrade their skills every now and then. So, improvements in skills ask for special training classes or demand the professionals to obtain a degree or certificate, as a result of which extra load is added. This additional burden may be in the form of stress that originates due to continuing professional development (CPD) or in the form of financial difficulties that arise due to the expenses that incur due to CPD. The new technique or skill may not be that important for regular practices, but the need to learn the new method becomes necessary (Scott & Yoder-Wise, 2013). In such scenarios the team leader has most of the burden to bear. Experienced nurses with basic qualifications are considered to be more suitable for job, compared to the ones with higher qualification and no experience. When policy makers set merits or generate standards for a particular post, their main emphasis is on qualification rather than experience. But this approach fails to fulfill the purpose of improving health standards, since qualification alone is insufficient to provide and sustain professional services and for this reason many new graduates although manage to get a job, they fail to succeed in professional terms. It can therefore be regarded as a superficial way of raising healthcare standards. Experienced nurses know their whereabouts; they know how to deal in emergency situations. They have molded their life style to accommodate their profession. Whenever a leader is asked to recruit new staff for the hospital, it becomes really tough to manage the entire burden with unskilled hands. Moreover, losing an experienced campaigner due to some lack of qualification on curriculum vitae is also problematic for the leaders to handle (Sandström, Borglin, Nilsson, & Willman, 2011). Nurses on job have a tight schedule, they have to work at odd hours, and demanding an extra diploma or a certificate for the newer developments in practice is tough thing to ask, since they are over occupied by job they perform. The head of nursing staff or the team leader is the person who is answerable to the authority for the conduct of nurses within a hospital. It is the responsibility of the leader to manage the nursing staff, and look after their needs. The performance of nurses in the hospital is very crucial for maintaining quality services, patients often complain about the rude behavior on part of the nurses and their negligence in conducting the recommended care. The team leader needs to visit these issues at the end of the day. Therefore, they must develop a strategy for solving these issues forehand. This can be done by undermining the cause that results in creating problematic behavior of their staff. Nurses are not regularly appreciated for the job they do, despite their crucial place in the healthcare setup, their services are not acknowledged the way they should be. Their pay scale is low, and the job demanded from them is relatively tough. The imbalance between the job done and the amount earned is often reported to be a cause of dissatisfaction of nurses towards their job. Team leaders are bound to solve these matters (Sandström, Borglin, Nilsson, & Willman, 2011). Analysis Innovation, autonomy, and problem solving are the three principle characteristics of a quality leader. It is not only the display of these attributes in one’s personality, rather how one distributes or share these qualities with his or her subjects (Huber, 2013). As mentioned earlier there are so many types and forms of nursing theories, each one is similar in a sense that it deals with task of taking care of the patients, and the difference in the theories is mainly due to the application, methodology, and ideology of the theorists. In considering the aforementioned issues in nursing leadership, one can find a lot of text published in journals, and books, however, even in the present day there is no universal mode of managing nursing staff and leading them. If one considers the humanistic point of view of nursing, the main area of focus for the team leaders will be to fulfill the needs of their subjects in order to obtain optimized performance. Personal and job security are the two key issues that create problems for the nurses to get adjusted. Moreover, the inability to maintain a work-life balance is also a matter of concern. Threats like job insecurity often looms over the minds of present day health professionals due to the lack of opportunities and increasing competition (Galletta, Portoghese, Battistelli, & Leiter, 2013). As a team leader, it is the duty of the head nursing staff to develop a relation with their subjects where they could share their problems. When a person feels secure, he or she is expected to work more comfortably and show greater degree of motivation. Ian Jean Orlando’s theory on nursing is often recommended as one of the very nursing theories that give a framework for leadership in the nursing department. However, no explicit information is available in this theory regarding the leadership standards. A leader in the nursing department performs the function of manager and a leader (Curtis, de Vries, & Sheerin, 2011). Therefore, most of theories address the problems related human resource management, instead of leadership. The problem of leadership in nursing quarters requires a framework that does not confuse leadership with management. Grand theory of nursing or Metatheory can be considered as possible options, to formulate methods of enhancing leadership qualities among nurses. Conclusion Nursing theory is a broad term, it has multiple interpretations, and however, the focus of all these theories is the person. Leadership in the nursing department is very crucial; it is required for maintaining high quality standards of healthcare. From viewing a list of theories postulated regarding the field of nursing, one finds the absence of a universal model or framework for leadership. Leaders of nursing department have various tasks to handle, first of all they have to answer the authorities regarding the performance of their subjects, they also have to manage the human resource for optimum outcome, and they are to monitor all the activities conducted. Further, they have to set example for their juniors, by showing character and skill. Overall, a lot of research has been conducted regarding leadership in the nursing quarters, still there is a lot of space to be covered. References Curtis, E. A., de Vries, J., & Sheerin, F. K. (2011). Developing leadership in nursing: exploring core factors. . British Journal of Nursing, 306. Galletta, M., Portoghese, I., Battistelli, A., & Leiter, M. P. (2013). The roles of unit leadership and nurse–physician collaboration on nursing turnover intention. . Journal of advanced nursing, 1771-1784. Huber, D. (2013). Leadership and nursing care management. . Elsevier Health Sciences. Sandström, B., Borglin, G., Nilsson, R., & Willman, A. (2011). Promoting the implementation of evidence‐based practice: A literature review focusing on the role of nursing leadership. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 212-223. Scott, E. S., & Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2013). Increasing the intensity of nursing leadership: graduate preparation for nurse leaders. . Journal of Nursing Administration, 1-3. Read More