Nursing - Aplication of Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nursing - Aplication of Theory - Essay Example However, the delivery of their services is in a detached manner, in which they have minimal physical and social contact with the patient. The nurse however is deeply involved at all stages with the patient, and has a stellar role to play throughout the recovery process, even after discharge. The nobility of the profession, already exemplified by Florence Nightingale, has been firmly established. The tremendous developments in science, education, medical techniques and information technology during the last and the present century have brought forth new concepts, Ideologies and roles for nursing as well as other professionals. An important aspect during this period has been the identification, conceptualization and practical application of numerous nursing theories’ which have established themselves as hallmarks for the nursing profession. A nursing theory has been defined as the body of knowledge that is used to support nursing practice with most of the presently recognized tw enty theories’ generated in the last 20 years, with new concepts being identified and added continuously(Web). Nursing theories have been pictorially visualized as a tree whose trunk is represented by Florence Nightingale’s whose significant contribution to the reduction of mortality in soldiers’ during the war in Turkey and efforts to bring about an association of nursing with spirituality, devotion and knowledge revolutionized the way nurses were looked at in society as well as the manner in which they operated (Tourville, 2003). Based on the strong foundations laid down by Nightingale, numerous nursing professionals have contributed to the development of this virtual tree whose roots have been described as the four meta-paradigms defined as person, environment, health and nursing (Tourville, 2003). Each subsequent contribution to the knowledge on nursing theories’ has been attributed to individual nursing practitioners’ who made a significant im pact on the subsequent school of thought in the profession. Jean Watson, who came up with the idea of her ‘carative theory’ in the latter part of the twentieth century has held great appeal in the subsequent years. Watson was influenced by philosophy and thoughts of eminent psychologists and personalities such as Carl Rogers, Yalom, Chardin, Sartre and Kirkland (Tourville, 2003). In addition she had vast experience in the nursing profession in multinational and multicultural environments. Watson relegated the scientific and medical aspects of healing to an altogether different aspect which she labeled as ‘Trim’ and stressed upon ‘caring’ for the patient as the most important aspect. She appealed for the nurses’ to treat themselves with gentleness and dignity while establishing a deep, caring relationship with the patient. She felt that the caring attitude of nurses’ as been buried under the technical aspects of healthcare. Unless and interpersonal relationship is established between the patient and the nurse, it is difficult to justify one’ duty as a nurse. The crux of her ‘carative factors focuses on unselfish concern for every human being, instillation of faith and hope in the sufferer, cultivation of sensitivity towards self as well as others, developing a helping attitude to strengthen trust, encouraging the patient to express freely, decision making through a problem solving