Week 8 Class Tread Response
2
Instructions: Reply to 2 of your peers below. Must be 250 words or more.
For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least two scholarly citations in addition to the Bible in APA format. Each reply must incorporate at least one scholarly citation(s) in APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, and scholarly articles.
Review your classmates’ threads, and respond through considering:
Classmates’ Tread 1.
My view of nursing theory and practice has changed drastically over the course of this class. Prior to this class, I had little to no knowledge of nursing theory, having forgotten since nursing school years ago. It has been helpful in the textbook readings to not only learn about the theories themselves, but also the application in nursing practice as well. I feel I have been handed a solid set of tools to examine literature more critically and approach nursing dilemmas with a better nursing process. While I do still find some theories hard to understand and apply, I acknowledge that I have a better understanding of theory and research than before.
Based on this course, I find myself better prepared to apply theory in my nursing career. One of these days I would like to manage an emergency room or a trauma team. It will be essential to use my knowledge of theory to improve the department. I appreciated the time that McEwen and Willis took to point out in their book some of the areas that nursing leadership and administration will need to improve upon in the future. Some of these areas include the price of health care, nurses leaving the discipline, organization of care, and more. These areas will need to be examined with care and attention to detail, so as to apply the right theories and solutions to improve the issues and quality of care. (McEwen & Willis, 2019, p. 528)
Honestly, thinking back on my last workplace in the Emergency Department, I would have laughed if a colleague had asked me why nursing theory is important. However, after this class, I believe I now have a better answer for them. Nursing theory is important to practice as it provides a systematic way of identifying or improving nursing processes. By identifying nursing processes and elements, theory makes nursing more teachable to others. By applying theory, one can improve current nursing policies within their workplace. Understanding and learning theory is an asset to any nurse. Every nurse would do well to continue to build their knowledge base and learn from others who have come before them. As it says in Proverbs 16:16, “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver” (Holy Bible, English Standard Version, 2001/2016). What a change that would be in healthcare if nurses sought to learn and improve their nursing knowledge to help their patients rather than just try to increase their income. At the heart of all nurses should be a desire to help those in need, and theory can help attain that desire.
The nursing field is changing drastically. The pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus has weakened many nurses’ will to provide compassionate care, instead replacing it with an overworked and exhausted workforce. By applying certain theories in the right setting, nursing care would improve for the benefit of both the patient and the nurse. It is my hope to one day be in a position where I can utilize the theory and knowledge I have learned to help my fellow nurses and in turn, the patients in my community.
Classmates’ Tread 2.
Over this course, I have had the opportunity to expand my microscopic knowledge of nursing theory and gain a better understanding and application of nursing theory. Going back to Florence Nightingale there have been many great nursing theorists and there will continue to be new nursing theories as to the profession ages and matures. The knowledge of nursing is infinitely growing and is developed by studying concepts, relationships, and theories (McEwen & Willis, 2019). Theories do not have to be nursing specific or original to nursing; however, they should be fine-tuned to nursing practice.
Within my career, I will be able to apply nursing theory to better understand the profession and needs of my patients. While my actual nursing skills will not change tremendously, my nursing thought practice and ability to systematically organize and relay those thoughts will be greatly improved. As a critical care nurse of five years, I am just getting to the point in my career where I want to start moving the big picture and not just the bedside patient. I never thought I would get to the point that I would not want to be in the trenches every day; however, I want to make sure that my peers and coworkers have the best opportunities to provide not only care for our patients but to grow their career. Applying nursing theory will also help me in my understanding of research and digestion of larger system processes and practice.
If a colleague were to ask me why nursing theory is important to practice I would ask them how it is not important! Roy Callista described nursing as a “profession in the crossroads”; as a result, more than ever we need nursing theory to bolster our professional practice and ensure that we are moving forward in a spirit that Florence Nightingale would approve (2018). With COVID-19 Pandemic I personally feel that self-reflection and organization are more important than ever. Nurses are leaving the bedside by the handful and sometimes more. When I was sitting in the PICU break room they had five nurses leaving in the month of December and three of which are leaving nursing completely. We may have been at a nursing crossroads in 2018, but today in 2021 we are at a breaking point. Nurses are leaving the profession or seeking higher-paying jobs as travel nurses. Nursing theory is one tool to help nursing and health care get back on track and address the urgent needs of the profession. I started working in healthcare 20 years ago next month and it is not the same environment as when I started. In February of 2020, I recall sitting in the morning conference call discussing the potential impact of the Coronavirus as well as sitting at lunch watching the Chinese Government build an entire hospital in a weeks’ time on YouTube video feed. The world has changed, and nursing has changed; however, many of the nursing theories written decades ago are still as valid today as they were when initially written.