theory theory theory

[freckles23]

As I sit in my Nursing I class, I notice some students from the previous semester who are retaking nursing I. They all missed the cut off by 2 or so points. I keep asking the students about what to expect for the semester and they keep telling me to understand the theory of everything. But my question is, what necessarily IS the theory? I find myself studying every itty bitty piece of info in the book and asking myself, do I really need to know every A&P information? A lot of the students tell me to focus on what the teacher lectures but its very hard because the professors don't go that much into detail about the topics so I get confused on if I should study other things additionally to what the professor talked about in lecture. Someone please clarify and give me some advice and tips on understanding the "theory" of things.

Thank you,

Very exhausted and confused nursing student!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

At the most basic level, theory means the way you think about how something works.

For example, you can think about how nursing works by looking at how many people have developed their own theories about that. There are lots of them. "Nursing theories frame, explain, or define the provision of nursing care."

One model sees the individual as a set of interrelated systems (biological, psychological and social), for example; another one says nurses do for people what they would do for themselves if they could. Another defines 'what living means' and categorizes these discoveries into Activities of Living (AL), in order to promote maximum independence, through complete assessment leading to interventions that further support independence in areas that may prove difficult or impossible for the individual on their own. At some point you'll study these and you'll probably find one that works for you personally. There is no one right or wrong way, and it's good to know where nursing is going by where it's been.

However, what your classmate said really means that if you want to succeed in nursing school, be sure you get a good grasp of what everything means and how everything works, don't just memorize facts. This is not US history-- memorization will NOT work for you as a sole strategy. You have to be able to explain why something is the way it is, how it got there, and what you expect to be able to do about it. You will learn physiology-- how body systems work normally, how you assess them, and how they interrelate. Then later you'll learn pathophysiology-- diseases. Along with both you'll be learning how to assess symptoms other factors in your patients, and then when you come up against a problem you'll remember what you learned about normal, patho, and assessment and care to decide what plan of care you'll want.

Learning to think like a nurse is sometimes called "critical thinking," but it really means remembering everything you learned up to this point and using it to solve problems by thinking them out.

Welcome to the profession! We need you out here.

[Blue Cat]

My program used the Lewis Med-Surg books and with each chapter, there were sections within chapters titled "nursing implications" (or something to that effect). Pay attention to those and do any practice NCLEX-style questions around the topic you are studying. I ended up buying a lot of supplemental materials to help me better grasp the material. I really like the Reviews and Rationales series. You will also need to discover what your learning style is and it is probably different than anything that has worked for you prior to nursing school. Find a system that works for you (study group, independent study, making index cards, rewriting the material, etc) and stick with it. It will click for you.

Good luck,

Blue

[rubato, ASN, RN]

The biggest thing for me is knowing the rationales, the whys. For instance, why does my priority nursing intervention with congestive heart failure need to be lung sounds and edema? Because when the blood backs up, you get excess fluid. Etc, etc.....You don't have to know every single fact about anatomy and physiology, or god forbid, pharmacology, but you need to know what you need to know, and you need to know why that's the important thing.

Probably makes no sense at all.

[freckles23]

The biggest thing for me is knowing the rationales, the whys. For instance, why does my priority nursing intervention with congestive heart failure need to be lung sounds and edema? Because when the blood backs up, you get excess fluid. Etc, etc.....You don't have to know every single fact about anatomy and physiology, or god forbid, pharmacology, but you need to know what you need to know, and you need to know why that's the important thing.

Probably makes no sense at all.

I definetely understand what you mean. I am realizing when I'm at clinical, my instructors keep asking me why I am doing what I am doing. So I think I'm starting to understand theory. I just wish I could apply it well on my tests

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

right now the best theory to learn is Maslow's hierarchy of needs. If someone is bleeding out (homeostatis not achieved) then it is not a good time to teach the patient about side effects of medication.Learning WHY is important. More important than memorizing

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Sometimes I find it helpful to categorize the foundational 'stuff' as Principles rather than theory... less off-putting for learners. For instance, understanding basic principles of physics will help clarify hemodynamics; Why does intravascular pressure increase as the lumen of the vessel decreases? Effect of pressure gradients on cardiac valves . . etc.

As PPs have indicated, it's all about creating mental models with the knowledge you attain. Higher achieving learners won't just memorize the normal creatinine concentration, they deliberately construct a mental model ... "OK, so this is creatinine - where does it come from? where does it go? what does an increased serum level indicate" Then, when they come across an increased creatinine level, they pull up that mental model to figure out what it could mean.