N491: Analyzing Nursing Theories and Their Impact on Practice

This discussion post, created for a Nursing course (N491), examines the application and impact of various nursing theories on professional practice and patient care. The author discusses the course objectives, which focused on understanding different nursing theories such as Florence Nightingale's legacy, Dorothy Johnson's Behavioral System Model, and Sister Callista Roy's Adaptation Model. The assignment highlights how these theories provide frameworks for patient care, communication, and clinical reasoning. It emphasizes the course's influence on professional practice, illustrating how theories like Roy's Model and the self-care deficit theory improve patient outcomes by ensuring patient safety, autonomy, and effective care delivery. The post concludes by underscoring the importance of nursing theories in enhancing patient care and fostering interdisciplinary teamwork in a changing healthcare landscape.

Running head: DISCUSSION
N491 Concepts and Theories in Nursing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DISCUSSION
Introduction
Nursing theory refers to the rigorous and creative structuring of ideas that present a
purposeful, tentative and systematic overview of nursing phenomena (Alligood, 2017).
Meeting course objectives
The primary objective of the course was to provide an overview of different nursing
theories, their development, and works of theorists and strategies for critiquing the theories.
The course objectives have been met since it helped to develop a sound understanding of
different theories like Florence Nightingale’s legacy of caring, Behavioral System Model by
Dorothy Johnson, Adaptation Model by Sister Callista Roy, Theory of Culture Care
Diversity, and many others (Smith & Parker, 2015). It helped in comprehending that the
theories provide a framework for examining the direction of patient care. They also
administer a structure for communication with other healthcare providers. I have acquired the
capability of assessing their impacts on nursing practice and have also developed knowledge,
pertinent to enhancing patient care. Not only has the course helped me to adapt range of
reasoning skills like deductive, inductive, backward induction, and critical thinking, it has
also increased my understanding on the fact that clinical reasoning forms a core component
of nursing and facilitates determination of patient care outcomes.
Change in professional practice
The course material has created a significant impact on my professional practice. The
course elucidated that effective nursing practice necessitates the implementation of skills,
knowledge and evidence to deliver care for patients in a considerate and efficient manner
(Smith & Parker, 2015). I realized that the chief purpose of using nursing theory is to advance
practice by positively affecting the quality of life and health patients. The Roy’s Model to
Family Assessment governed care for patients suffering from psychological disorder and

2DISCUSSION
helped in determining the extent to which the family of the patients was able to address
fundamental survival needs, its values, degree of companionship, interdependence, and major
concerns (American Psychological Association, 2009). In another instance, the use of self-
care deficit nursing theory improved health status of a diabetes patient since it allowed the
latter to perform her self-care to the best of her capability. The course also elucidated that it is
imperative for nurses to protect patient autonomy, while delivering care that is in the best
interest of the patient (beneficence) and does not cause any harm or injury (non-maleficence)
(Butts & Rich, 2019).
Influence on professional practice
Nursing theory will affect professional practice by emphasizing on the need of
maintaining patient safety. While caring for vulnerable patients like those suffering from
mental disorder, or pregnant, or terminally ill, adherence to theories will ensure that none of
the patients are harmed and are given complete attention (American Psychological
Association, 2009). At the time of encountering changing work landscape like huge workload
and increased accountability, the theories will facilitate development of interdisciplinary
teams that will ease delivery of effective care service. While caring for culturally diverse
patients, application of theory will foster open communication with patients and also help in
development of trust and therapeutic relationship, thereby ultimately benefiting the patients
(Gillespie & Schiffman, 2018). Middle range theories will also create a positive impact on
nursing practice by enhancing nursing education and administration.
Conclusion
To conclude, the course not only increased theoretical knowledge but also enhanced
professional practice by advancing patient care outcomes.

3DISCUSSION
References
Alligood, M. R. (2017). Nursing Theorists and Their Work-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
American Psychological Association. (2009) Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2019). Nursing ethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Gillespie, D. J., & Schiffman, R. (2018). A Critique of the Shannon-Weaver Theory of
Communication and Its Implications for Nursing. Research and theory for nursing
practice, 32(2), 216-225.
Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing theories and nursing practice. FA Davis.