Assignment: Theory Connection Case
Assignment: Theory Connection Case
Assignment: Theory Connection Case
Week 4 discussion Connection Between Theory and Advanced Clinical Practice While the focus of this course is nursing theory, some nurses say that theory has no role in clinical practice. What are your thoughts? Does nursing theory have a role in clinical practice? How would you use nursing theory to improve or evaluate the quality of clinical practice? Be sure to include an example that demonstrates your thoughts. Don’t forget to include a scholarly reference!
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While the focus of this course is nursing theory, some nurses say that theory has no role in clinical practice. What are your thoughts? Does nursing theory have a role in clinical practice? How would you use nursing theory to improve or evaluate the quality of clinical practice? Be sure to include an example that demonstrates your thoughts. Don’t forget to include a scholarly reference!
Connection Between Theory and Advanced Clinical Practice
We had some healthy debate over this in the start of this class but as the weeks go by there is more and more affirmation to me on the importance of theory in clinical practice. In my opinion, nursing theory is truly instrumental in nursing and the overall profession of nursing. While things change and evolve we can’t forgot those things that got us here. Nurses must recall nursing’s roots and celebrate nursing theory for what it is and all it represents (Karnick, 2016). Nursing theory is described as a way of organizing concepts and ideas (Karnick, 2016). In my opinion, nursing theory lays a foundation and provides a framework for practice. This framework provides the basis for care in which we build off as our profession evolves. In relation to its role in clinical practice, the overall goal of a nurse is to provide the best patient care and outcomes we can for those that we serve through that of theory and evidence-based practice. Applying theory to our delivery of care only helps to deliver on that goal. As nursing curriculum has evolved so has the need for categorizing that knowledge into what we know as theories to help nursing evaluate the complexities of the patient population and the variations in those populations. Theory provides nursing with principles to evaluate patient care, giving the nurse rationale for making decisions which encourages nursing to ask more broadly about the theory or evidence that supports practice (Davidson, 2012). This is turn allows for evaluation of the quality of care. The role and value of theory in quality improvement has been seriously underrecognized in healthcare (Davidoff, Dixon-Woods, Leviton, & Michie, 2015). You first must identify which theory aligns with what quality or experience metric you are wanting to look at. Quality of care is measurable with HCAHPS and with the quality data that is captured and reported publicly. Quality data is summed up with the Leapfrog Hospital Grades data that is put out for all to see in the spring and fall of each year. Those scores allow for celebration of those things done well as well as those things that need improving. Theory also provides us concepts to analyze as part of those theories and some of those concepts are measurable as well. An example is the concept of pain. Pain is rated on the HCAHPS survey and a score is provided on how well pain is being managed. Leader rounds is also a great way to capture how theory is being used on the unit as well as the impact it is making on quality. Leader rounding will only help staff look at you as a more approachable leader and that type of leadership is critical to gathering information held by your front-line staff (Lindsey & Corkran, 2012). Leader rounding on staff and leader rounding on patients is proven to make significant impacts on unit culture, morale, happiness and engagement of staff, and ultimately patient satisfaction and exceptional outcomes. One example of a theory is grounded theory. Grounded theory was used with moral reckoning to improve the quality of care they provided. The premise is that if nurses are aware of the potential reckoning in advance, they will be more likely to make consistent moral judgements and avoid situational binds and search for integrity-saving compromise in situations that test their moral judgement (Nathaniel & Andrews, 2007). This situation seeks go give nurses more control in these types of situations and helps them to understand what they are facing through explanation and by suggesting strategies to deal with uncertainty. This ultimately demonstrates the power of grounded theory to generate ideas that can make a difference to people’s lives because they are able to get to the root of the problem (Nathaniel & Andrews, 2007). I read a great article that is referenced above and I thought was a great read. It elaborated on grand, big, and small theories and the role they play for improvers of quality and researchers. I also enclosed a second link that was more specific to nursing theory and references Roger’s work. I think there is still much learning around theory and how to incorporate it into practice better. I believe as many others that the mention of theory and eyes glaze over. I believe it is because they make it more difficult than it needs to be. I can be honest in saying that I am intimidated a bit by theory just because this is something I utilize less and hope to start using more. I encourage all to read those articles below.
