NUR 513 Topic 4 APA Assignment

Sample Answer

Effective communication, both verbal and written, is essential for nurses as professionals in the healthcare sector. The American Psychological Association (APA) style is utilized for professional writing in nursing and healthcare.

Therefore, nursing students use this style to communicate their research and complete their academic assignments. The essence of this paper is to demonstrate the effective use of APA style based on proper citations, referencing, and the use of different level headings in completing assignments and communicating with instructors.

Purpose of Applying Nurse Theory to Patient Care

Nursing theories provide frameworks that shape the scope of nursing care and practice. Nursing theories consist of concepts, that describe relationships, definitions, and practices to guide patient care. Nursing theories are essential as they provide direction for nurses in practice and a foundation to make clinical decisions.

Through theories, nurses get a systematic approach to develop core practices to promote quality patient care (McEwan et al., 2021). The American Nurses Association (ANA) asserts that applying nursing theories in practice ensures nurses develop knowledge and support for evidence-based practice.

Nursing theoretical frameworks are essential to understanding decision-making processes and promoting quality patient care (Hansen et al., 2022). Theories offer foundational knowledge on care concepts that enable nursing professionals to explain what they do for patients and the reasons for such actions.

According to Younas and Quennell (2020), theory-guided nursing practice helps improve the quality of care since it enables nurses to articulate what they want to do for patients and the reasons for such actions. Using an integrative review, Younas et al. (2020) are categorical that theory-guided nursing practice focuses on the best patient outcomes through the provision of appropriate care. The article concludes that nurses should continue using theories to guide their practice while evaluating their effectiveness.

Nursing theories enable nurses to position themselves better to offer the best care by familiarizing themselves with their key concepts and strategies. Nurses make decisions and offer reasons for using different interventions to attain better patient outcomes (Butts et al., 2021). The implication is that the application of nursing theories is fundamental to providing quality patient care and attaining better outcomes and satisfaction from both patients and providers.

Meaningfulness of Nursing Theory to Current Practice

Current practice requires nursing theories to develop effective interventions for patients. Nursing theories offer foundations for making clinical decisions and taking appropriate measures to improve patient care. Theories exist in all areas; from nursing practice to education, and scientific research since they help determine what is known and any new skills and knowledge that nurses require to provide better care (Norris et al., 2021).

Nurses and other healthcare providers, including those in advanced nursing practice settings, should articulate evidence to justify the methodologies and decisions that they use and take. Therefore, theories ensure nurses have sufficient evidential foundation to convince all stakeholders, especially patients, about the actions and reasons for such decisions (ANA Nursing Resources Hub, 2023).

Current practice require best interventions and evidence-based actions to enhance patient confidence in care delivery and possible quality outcomes. The all-inclusive foundation to foresee issues affecting nursing care and clarify complex matters illustrates the meaningfulness of nursing theories in practice (Hansen et al., 2022).

Through this approach, nurses enhance patient advocacy, deploy evidence-based practice interventions, and seek professional development through improving competencies. For instance, nurses require culturally sensitive care interventions for diverse patient populations. As such, nursing theories ensure that they can justify the use of culturally competent care models when dealing with patients from diverse backgrounds.

Using Nursing Theories in Planning and Care Provision

Nursing theories are foundational frameworks that guide nursing practice and decision-making, including planning for and providing care. Therefore, nurses can use nursing theories before planning and providing care in present practice to understand patients, conduct assessments and diagnose patients, plan care, implement the proposed intervention, and evaluate the effects of the implementation (Smith et al., 2021).

For example, nursing theories help nurses to understand patients based on their needs, concerns, behaviors, and responses to treatment. By applying theories like Watson’s human caring, nurses get a deeper insight into patients’ holistic needs beyond the treatment based on symptoms.

Secondly, nursing theories offer a structured approach to assessing and diagnosing patients (Ren et al., 2024). For example, by using the self-care deficit theory developed by Dorothea Orem, nurses can identify weak areas where a patient requires assistance to execute self-care activities and customize the treatment plans.

Theories help nurses to plan care, especially the individualized care model. For example, the Transcultural nursing theory by Madeleine Leininger implores nurses to consider the cultural practices and beliefs of their patients when planning care (McEwan et al., 2021). Further, nursing theories enable nurses to identify and use evidence-based interventions to promote patient health.

For instance, the health promotion model by Nola Pender guides nurses to implement appropriate strategies and empower patients to make better healthier decisions and lifestyle choices (Gürcan et al., 2021). Theories are also critical in evaluating the effectiveness of care interventions.

Nurses can utilize Imogene King’s “goal attainment theory” to assess if the implemented intervention achieved the intended care goals. As such, the application of nursing theories is relevant to current practice as it demonstrates the importance of leveraging different theoretical models at various stages of care provision.

Theory Reflection

My personal view about the essence of nursing is helping patients attain self-sustenance and promote health based on their needs and concerns. As such, many nursing theories suit my view on the essence of nursing. These include Orem’s self-care deficit theory, Pender’s health promotion, and Watson’s human caring model (Hartweg et al., 2022).

As such, I believe that nurses should integrate these three critical theories as the basis for the provision of patient-centered and provider-driven care to attain better outcomes. For example, nurses will not be there all the time with patients and patients must return to their normal functioning and activities after an illness (Butts et al., 2021).

Therefore, they should help them be independent as advanced by Orem’s self-care model, and promote better health through Pender’s approach or theory. Again, they should leverage Watson’s model to improve their care and ensure patients attain expected care outcomes and goals.

Conclusion

Nursing theories are critical to care provision since they help nurses to implement interventions aimed at improving patient outcomes. Theories offer foundational knowledge and direction as well as justify interventions by nurses.

As such, nurses should integrate nursing theories as a core part of delivering better care, making effective decisions, and integrating patient-centered interventions. All nursing theories are encompassing and no single theory can inform care practice but a combination of two or more informs my perspective on the best theory for nurses.

References

• ANA Nursing Resources Hub (2023 July 5). What Is Nursing Theory?
  https //www.nursingworld.org/content-hub/resources/becoming-a-nurse/nursing-theory/
  Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2021). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice.
  Jones & Bartlett Learning.
  Gürcan, M., & Turan, S. A. (2021). Examining the expectations of healing care environment of
  Hospitalized children with cancer based on Watson’s theory of human caring. Journal of
  
• Advanced Nursing, 77(8) 3472–3482. https //doi.org/10.1111/JAN.1493
  Hartweg, D. L., & Metcalfe, S. A. (2022). Orem’s self-care deficit nursing theory relevance and
  Need for refinement. Nursing science quarterly, 35(1), 70-76. https //doi.org/10.1177/08943184211051369
  
• Hansen, B. S., & Dysvik, E. (2022, November). Expanding the theoretical understanding in
  Advanced Practice Nursing Framing the future. Nursing forum, 57(6) 1593-1598. DOI 10.1111/nuf.12827
  
• McEwan, M., & Wills, E. M. (2021). Theoretical basis for nursing. Lippincott Williams &
  Wilkins.
  Norris, W. M., & Newsome, W. M. (2021). Is There Still Value in Teaching Nursing Theory?
  Journal of nursing education, 60(11) 603-604. https //doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20211007-02
  
• Smith, M. J., Liehr, P. R., & Carpenter, R. D. (Eds.). (2023). Middle range theory for nursing. Springer Publishing Company.
  Ren, Y., & Tovera Salvador, J. (2024). The Usefulness of Nursing Theory in Guiding Nursing Practice in China A Systematic Review. Research & theory for nursing practice, 38(1). DOI 10.1891/RTNP-2023-0043
  
• Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2020). Usefulness of nursing theory‐guided practice an integrative review. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences, 33(3) 540-555. DOI 10.1111/scs.12670.