RESPONSE DISCUSSION

Ask a probing question substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.

Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.

Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

DISCUSSION POST:

As stated by Algase (2009), we make theory from experience to guide what we do, this sentence summarized my reading for the week. Simply put, we are all theorist due to our practice and decisions we made as clinical leaders. According to Pearson (2013) decision-making is a dynamic process in nursing practice, and the theories emphasize the importance of adaptability and reflective practice to identify factors that impact on patient care. Having said that, as nurses we make life and death decisions on daily bases, hence it is a fundamental concept in our practice that conforms to a systematic trajectory involving the assessment, interpretation, evaluation and management of patient-specific situations (Dougherty et al, 2015).

Shared decision making is vital to consider in terms of patient autonomy and professional duty of care as set out in the Nursing Code, which underpins nursing practice. Theory is so powerful in guiding our action, it is important that we explicate, examine the logic of, and test theories at least occasionally (Algase, 2009). It is so crucial that we continue to the frameworks since we strive daily to be error free in our practice as EBP is established. Sometimes we know things do turn out in an unsatisfying or unexpected way in both personal and professional context at times hence the need for an adaptable theory. Nursing theory that is compatible with a practitioner or the institution values and mission and that is easily understood and simple enough to guide nursing practice. The purpose of developing research questions in nursing is to guide the next generation of nurses and increase nursing knowledge by proposing and testing ideas that will optimize human health. Theories like comfort theory, systems theory and Jean Watson’s caring theory easily comes to mind.

For instance, the recognition of an evolving STEMI on the cardiac monitor corresponds with the model of hypothetico-deductive reasoning (Pearson, 2013) within the descriptive and normative theories is an application of EBP. This model recognizes that decision-making comprises four stages, beginning with cue acquisition that stems from scientific research.

References

Algase, D. (2009). The centrality of theoretical thinking and the value of empirical evidence. Research & Theory for Nursing Practice, 23(4), 251-252. doi:10.1891/1541-6577.23.4.251

Dougherty L, Lister S, West-Oram A (eds). The Royal Marsden manual of clinical nursing procedures. 9th edn. Student edition. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell Publishing; 2011

Pearson H. Science and intuition: do both have a place in clinical decision making? Br J Nurs. 2013;22(4):212–215. https://doi.org/10.12968/ bjon.2013.22.4.212

Watkins, S. (2020). Effective decision-making: applying the theories to nursing practice. British Journal of Nursing, 29(2), 98–101. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.12968/bjon.2020.29.2.98