Nursing Theory???

[k123456]

Message deleted. No response necessary.

[Q.]

Originally posted by Peeps Mcarthur

So there we have it,

It is subconcious.

Maybe I really use all the psych and health illness continuum and love it! How would I know if it was buried deep in my psyche?

Not to pick on you Peeps, but do you honestly think that what you are being taught in your curriculum is NOT theory-based?

Think again.

When you understand that a patient is scared, and you are able to pick up on that subtlety and respond, you are using a theory.

As Linda stated, "practice without theory is blind."

[cargal]

Originally posted by Peeps Mcarthur

You will be required to read, and actualy act like you care about thier psychosocial, spiritual well-being.(if we only had an emesis avatar).

Peeps,

I am not sure I understand this statement. Are you actually stating that you feel that a patient's psychosocial , spiritual well being has no bearing on your nursing care of that patient?

[Peeps Mcarthur]

All,

I want to directly quote everyone, but I don't want to turn this discussion into one of those quote-everything-and-get-spittin' mad-vent-o-rama-for-pay per-views;) oke-doke?:)

I think I'll make a direct quote from an F.A. Davis program for nursing diagnosis. It is taken from NANDA guidelines. It's the definition of a "diagnosis".

Disruption in the life principle that pervades a person's entire being and that integrates and transcends one's biological and psychosocial nature.

This sort of thing is an indication to me that nursing programs have tried so earnestly to separate their image from the medical model that they have in fact "left the building" so to speak.

It's wording like this that tells me they really know its a bunch of crap because it's not expressed in language that is easily understood.

I've listened to enough people BS in my life to know what it looks like.

I've seen enough nurses perform their duties and it doesn't look like much more than a working knowledgebase, psychomotor skills, and use of the five senses in constant assessment.

If I see to my patients needs in the real world, with a real workload, I can't see having time to treat(as if we could) thier spiritual or psychosocial well-being.

Nurses are not psychologists, or social workers, just as they are not physical therapists, or MDs. Nurses are coordinators aren't they? Patient advocates promoting health by coordinating care.

[sjoe]

Peeps--exactly right. When I first saw "nursing theories" and "nursing diagnoses" I felt only embarrassment at these feeble attempts to pretend to be grownups. It reminded me of the arcane rules and special passwords and "high signs" that kids make up when they form gangs.

[Q.]

Originally posted by Peeps Mcarthur

Nurses are not psychologists, or social workers, just as they are not physical therapists, or MDs. Nurses are coordinators aren't they? Patient advocates promoting health by coordinating care.

Peeps, in one sense I disagree because, if you ask any nurse, she/he will tell you that they do indeed act as psychologists, social workers, nutritionists, RTs, etc. But I also agree that nurses are coordinators of care, as well as direct providors of it.

I also agree that current nursing theory is wordy, not easily understood and fluffy. Especially Roger's theory, who wrote her theory on her horrible misunderstanding of physics. Yikes. Please read this article:

Nursing Theory Humbug

You will probably find it humorous. It was written by a layperson.

I think we can all agree that the current theory is not very usable, but that theory in general is usable. Right?

[norweaver]

K123456,

My first question, in order to clarify what nursing science is would be, What do you think nursing is? How would you define it? What body of knowledge is the basis for nursing in your definition? I'd love to hear your answers and go from there.

First, we are not doctor's handmaidens or are we intended to be technicians performing medical orders/plans (although an extraordinary amount of nurses function that way).

For those of you who don't have a clue how nursing theory applies to your practice, I say that it's a subject you really should examine. Do you consider nursing your profession? Your job? Only your paycheck? Do you take the professional responsibility to remain educated about your profession? What do you base your practice on?

People who only consider nursing a job or a paycheck or a stepping stone to making more money as a nurse practitioner, are part of the problem, IMO. The world doesn't exist simply to make as much money as possible. It's exactly why, when planning staffing, many administrations use all "bodies" interchangably, without valuing RN's. Why should they? Many RN's haven't a clue what separates their practice from LPN's. It's really sad. I'm hoping that when we all figure out what nursing theory is, and how it applies to you as an RN, maybe the whole profession will gain more respect and therefore attract more students.

[Sekar]

Susy K - That article was very apt, it hit the nail on the head as to why most other diciplines consider a PH.D in Nursing to be a joke. If Roger's theories are typical of the kind rot that is being fed to our young as the "Theory of Nursing" we have a serious problem in our career field. Thanks for recommending that article, I for one found it refreshing.

[sjoe]

"basically feeling like it was just a big bunch of crap."

Sounds like you have it figured out to me.

My advice: Stop worrying about it. Nobody takes this stuff seriously except in the classroom, so just learn what you need to in order to pass the exam and then forget it all as soon as you can. You've got more important and useful things to learn.

[Roland]

is almost painful. The liberal overtones make listening to Donahue, and NPR painless by comparison (I realize that nursing theory is not overtly political so how it manages to come off as liberal is an engma unto itself.) Of course I will master the subject in order to get a good grade, BUT I will do so cognizant that many of the concepts are either bunk or "plagarized" restatements of concepts long known. To me the term theory should be reserved for long tested hypotheses of extraordinary explanatory power. Thus, electromagnetic theory allows us to understand, and perhaps more importantly predict how light will behave under a variety of different circumstances. In the social sciences economic theory allows us to make certain predictions about how economies will develop and distribute resources over time. What does nursing theory allow us to predict?

One statement of particular concern was that nursing theory allows nurses to "differentiate their profession". Now that may very well be the case, and it might be a positive aspect of nursing theory for the profession. However, if such desires in any influence the FORMULATION of such theories it is a betrayal of the scientific and intellectual process. We shouldn't put forth theories or philosophies for self serving reasons. This is what our nation did long ago when it wished to "push aside" native americans in its movement Westward. It created a "theory" of Manifest Destiny to justify its actions. All theory or philosophy should be about the simple, and deliberate pursuit of the truth without regard to its consequences.

By the way I am pursuing nursing primarily for a steady pay check. The free market economic theory upon which our nation's economy is based tells me that this is the thing to do.

[sjoe]

"One statement of particular concern was that nursing theory allows nurses to "differentiate their profession". Now that may very well be the case, and it might be a positive aspect of nursing theory for the profession. "

It "differentiates" nursing all right. To anyone with a brain, it clearly reveals a feeble attempt to sound like "one of the big boys"--which the attempt itself reveals to be absurd. It has always reminded me of the "high sign" the Little Rascals used to prove they were members of the club. Don't waste your time by taking this stuff seriously, any more than you would try to sort out all the possible meanings of a football cheer.

Hopefully nursing will provide for the financial reward you seek. I also hope you find the money to be worth the personal price you will pay, but if you continue to spend your energy trying to get it all to somehow "make sense," your cost will be very high--since much of it does not.

IMHO

[Vsummer1]

Every single class, throughout our entire program, is based on Orem's Theory of Self Care. EVERY SINGLE CLASS! They are so into it, that they even have us write our careplans using one of Orem's power components or conditioning factorS as part of our nursing dx, being the "self-care limitation". So our format for the dx would be: NANDA + deficit d/t self care limitation. Written just like that. For example: Skin integrity impairment, risk for: unable to control bladder and bowel due to inability to control body position and movements.

But of course no one else write careplans like this, in the real world, do they???

[Peeps Mcarthur]

There are careplans on a program that only require that you know the patients medical DX. After that you're just checking appropriate boxes with the click of the mouse.

You will never use them.

You may pause for a second and think that you used some theory, but it will just be a feeling that you forgot something you learned sometime for something.

I think what we will find is that we will be taught all this nursing theory crap and then later in the real world, will need all the medical knowledge that they shyed away from because "nurses don't do that" and not have a clue as to what really makes people sick, and how medical science will heal them.

Maybe that's why new grads suck................ya think?