Best Answer
The first step in writing about non-nursing theory as applied to nursing practice is deciding what theories you are going to use. Non-nursing theory refers to any theory that is not nursing-specific, which means that there are countless options you could choose to write your paper. These different theories can be applied, with varying degrees of success, to nursing. The theories we would choose include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development theory, and Bandura’s social learning theory. We picked these three because they are the three psychosocial theories that we think are best suited to helping nurses in their nursing practice. However, you might choose to focus on other theories, depending on the thrust of your nursing practice. For example, if you are focusing on pediatrics, you might want to focus more specifically on the development of children, while if you are focusing on geriatrics you might be more interested in social theories about aging.
Once you have identified the theory or theories that you want to write about in your paper, you need to familiarize yourself with the theories. The links we included above will give you a good overview of the theories we would choose, but you can also choose a reputable source to familiarize yourself with other theories. After you read about the theory, ask yourself if you still think it is applicable to the practice of nursing. If the answer to that question is “yes,” then ask yourself how. The text of your paper can be found in the explanation of how. How does this theory help explain an issue or solve a problem encountered in nursing? How would using that theory help nurses interact with patients, with fellow nurses, or with nurse supervisors or doctors on the ward?
