1. Nursing Theorist Overview
Theory guides nursing practice and provides a framework for nurse leadership and healthcare management (McKenna, Pajnikar & Murphy, 2014). All prominent nursing theorists like the individuals covered in the multimedia presentation have influenced nursing practice in some way or another, and all do resonate with me on a personal and professional level. I will incorporate elements of all theorists into my practice in terms of interpersonal communications and attitudes towards health and healing. Of the theorists covered in the presentation, those of Florence Nightingale resonate the most because of her inclusion of environmental factors implicated in patient care. Environmental factors like lighting or ventilation can have a profound impact on perceptions of quality of care, too, which has a strong bearing on the efficacy of the healthcare institution (Sabza & Pirani, 2016). The environmental factors that Nightingale identified as being important to patient care also have a direct effect on physiological responses in some patients, as I have noticed in my own nursing practice. For example, ventilation is a factor implicated in respiratory functions. Some patients are more sensitive to air quality or air temperature, which will be especially critical to those who have issues related to respiratory health or who are receiving specific types of treatments.
Because I have aspirations in nurse leadership, I intend to build on Nightingale’s environmental theories of nursing practice to make critical decisions related to institutional and workplace settings. In fact, Nightingale’s theories are already applicable to my current practice area. I have noticed how patients will respond to changes in their environment, either with beneficial or adverse outcomes. Sudden or constant noises are one of the most noticeable factors impacting patient responses to healthcare interventions. Environmental factors influence the efficacy of some treatment interventions, by creating a sense of comfort in some or initiating a stress response in others. The...
Nurses need to be aware of patient needs, with attention paid to cultural variables and other sociocultural issues like gender. Other aspects of Nightingale’s nursing theory that I can immediately apply to my patient care practices center on the responsibility the nurse undertakes to be an active role promoting healing via alterations to the care context.
2. Caring Science
The concept of caring has become embedded in nursing to the point where it is often taken for granted as an implied aspect of service delivery. Therefore, when caring is absent from nursing practice or patient interactions and communications, it can have an adverse impact on health outcomes or on organizational behavior. A lack of official caring practices in the healthcare institution can also lead to workplace dissatisfaction and poor morale among employees (Watson, 2009). Caring has had to be revitalized in nursing theory and education in order to interject the principles of caring, and to show what caring entails. Watson (2009) and the Watson Caring Science Institute (2018) have offered nurse leaders and nurse educators, as well as practitioners, the opportunity to standardize definitions of caring and operationalize standard caring procedures. The theory of human caring embodies my beliefs about the profession of nursing, which is a fundamentally holistic and multidisciplinary practice.
Nursing needs to be grounded in evidence-based practice, and caring is a major component of that approach to healthcare interventions (Watson, 2009). The administration of assessments, tests, and procedures without caring would only achieve a narrow bandwidth of healthcare goals and objectives. Desirable outcomes in patient care go far beyond quantitative outcomes to include the empowerment of patients to take charge of their own health beliefs and practices, to promote psychological growth and healing, and to encourage the integration of social support networks into the overall treatment plan. I have always…
