These values, beliefs, and knowledge echo those
held by other nurses in the discipline, including
nurse scholars and those who study and write
about nursing’s metaparadigm, philosophies, and
theories. In addition, nursing theorists and nurses
in practice think about and work with the same
phenomena, including the person nursed, the ac-
tions and relationships in the nursing situation,
and the context of nursing.
Many nurses practice according to ideas and di-
rections from other disciplines, such as medicine,
psychology, and public health. Historically, this is
not uncommon to nursing and is deeply ingrained
in the medical system, as well as in many settings in
which nurses practice today. The depth and scope of
the practice of nurses who follow notions about
nursing held by other disciplines are limited to
practices understood and accepted by those disci-
plines. Nurses who learn to practice from nursing
perspectives are awakened to the challenges and op-
portunities of practicing nursing more fully and
with a greater sense of autonomy, respect, and satis-
faction for themselves and those they nurse. Nurses
who practice from a nursing perspective approach
clients and families in ways unique to nursing, they
ask questions and receive and process information
about needs for nursing differently, and they create
nursing responses that are more wholistic and
client-focused. These nurses learn to reframe their
thinking about nursing knowledge and practice and
are then able to bring knowledge from other disci-
plines into their practice—not to direct their prac-
tice, but in order to meet goals of nursing.
Nurses who understand nursing’s theoretical
base are free to see beyond immediate facts and de-
livery systems and are able to choose to bring the
full range of health sciences and technologies into
their practice. Nurses who study nursing theory re-
alize that although no group actually owns ideas,
disciplines do claim ideas for their use. In the same
way, no group actually owns techniques, though
disciplines do claim them for their practice. For ex-
ample, before World War II, nurses rarely took
blood pressure readings and did not give intramus-
cular injections. This was not because nurses were
unable, but because they did not claim the use of
these techniques to facilitate their nursing. Such a
realization can also lead to understanding that the
things nurses do that are often called nursing are
not nursing at all. The techniques used by nurses,
such as taking blood pressure readings and giving
injections, are actually activities that give the nurse
access to persons for nursing. Nursing theories
inform the nurse about what nursing is and guide
the use of other ideas and techniques for nursing
purposes.
If nursing theory is to be useful—or practical—
it must be brought into practice. At the same time,
nurses can be guided by nursing theory in a full
range of nursing situations. Nursing theory can
change nursing practice: It provides direction for
new ways of being present with clients, helps nurses
realize ways of expressing caring, and provides ap-
proaches to understanding needs for nursing and
designing care to address these needs. Chapters of
this book affirm the use of nursing theory in prac-
tice and the study and assessment of theory for ul-
timate use in practice.Questions from Practicing
Nurses about Using
Nursing TheoryStudy of nursing theory may either precede or fol-
low selection of a nursing theory for use in nursing
practice. Analysis and evaluation of nursing theory
are key ways to study theory. These activities are de-
manding and deserve the full commitment of
nurses who undertake the work. Because it is un-
derstood that study of nursing theory is not a sim-
ple, short-term endeavor, nurses often question
doing such work. The following questions about
studying and using nursing theory have been col-
lected from many conversations with nurses about
nursing theory. These queries also identify specific
issues that are important to nurses who consider
study of nursing theory.MY NURSING PRACTICE- Does this theory reflect nursing practice as I
know it? Can it be understood in relation to my
nursing practice? Will it support what I believe
to be excellent nursing practice? - Is the theory specific to my area of nursing? Can
the language of the theory help me explain,
plan, and evaluate my nursing? Will I be able to
use the terms to communicate with others? - Can this theory be considered in relation to a
wide range of nursing situations? How does it
relate to more general views of nursing people
in other settings?
16 SECTION I Perspectives on Nursing Theory