Introduction to Nursing Theory

• IDEA/IDEAS - SOMETHING, SUCH AS A THOUGHT OR CONCEPTION, THAT POTENTIALLY OR ACTUALLY EXISTS IN THE MIND AS A PRODUCT OF MENTAL ACTIVITY. THEREFORE, THESE ARE ANYTHING WE THINK, ANY PRODUCT OF OUR MIND, ANY MENTAL ACTIVITY
• CONCEPTS - ARE THE VEHICLES OF THOUGHT THAT INVOLVES IMAGES. THESE ARE IMPRESSION RECEIVED BY SENSING OUR ENVIRONMENT.
• CONCEPT - CHIN AND JACOBS (1987) DEFINE IT AS COMPLEX MENTAL FORMULATION OF AN OBJECT, PROPERTY OR EVENTS THAT IS DERIVED FROM INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTION AND EXPERIENCES.
• CONCEPT ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THEORY.
• SINCE CONCEPT INVOLVES IMAGES, DEVELOPED BY SENSING OUR ENVIRONMENT AND IS DERIVED FROM ONE’S PERCEPTION AND EXPERIENCES, CONCEPTS VARY FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER PERSON.
• WORDS THAT DESCRIBE OBJECTS, PROPERTIES OR EVENTS ARE BASIC COMPONENTS OF THEORY.
• THEREFORE, IDEAS ARE ANYTHING PRODUCE BY OUR MIND, GROUP OF IDEAS LEADS TO A CONCEPT WHEN WE USE OUR SENSES AND PAST EXPERIENCES TO PERCEIVE.
• IN NURSING, THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF CONCEPTS
• EMPIRICAL CONCEPT CONCEPTS THAT EASILY BE OBSERVED IN REAL WORLD; BY USING SENSES.

  
  

  FOR EXAMPLE: COLOR OF URINE, TEXTURE OF HAIR, SMOOTHNESS OF SKIN, ETC.
• INFERENTIAL CONCEPT CONCEPTS THAT ARE INDIRECTLY OBSERVABLE, THUS WILL BE NEEDING INSTRUMENTS TO MEASURE IT.

  
  

  FOR EXAMPLE, PATIENT’ BLOOD PRESSURE IS AN INFERENTIAL CONCEPT SINCE WE NEED A SPHYGMOMANOMETER AND STETHOSCOPE TO MEASURE IT.
• ABSTRACT CONCEPT THESE ARE NONOBSERVABLE CONCEPTS.

  
  

  IN NURSING, WE UTILIZE MANY ABSTRACT CONCEPTS LIKE LOVE, CARE, DEATH, SPIRITUALITY, ETC.
• THEORY - FROM THE GREEK WORD - “THERIA”- WHICH MEANS VISION.
• THEORY - A BEHOLDING SPECTACLE OR SPECULATION.
• THEORY - KERLINGER (1979) – DEFINE IT AS “A SET OF INTERRELATED CONSTRUCTS (VARIABLES), DEFINITIONS, AND PROPOSITIONS THAT PRESENTS A SYSTEMATIC VIEW OF PHENOMENA BY SPECIFYING RELATIONS AMONG VARIABLES, WITH THE PURPOSE OF EXPLAINING NATURAL PHENOMENA”. THIS IS STILL VALID TODAY SINCE A THEORY ARE GROUPS OF CONCEPTS THAT INTERCONNECT WITH THE GOAL OF EXPLANATORY AND PREDICTIVE IN NATURE.
• CHINN & KRAMER ( 1999) - DEFINE THEORY AS “ A CREATIVE & RIGOROUS STRUCTURING OF IDEAS THAT PROJECT A TENTATIVE, PURPOSEFUL & SYSTEMATIC VIEW OF PHENOMENA” .
• BASED ON THESE DEFINITIONS, A THEORY GENERALLY IS DESCRIBED AS:

  - GROUPS OR SET OF CONCEPTS

  - THESE CONCEPTS SHOULD BE INTERRELATED TO EACH OTHER

  - THE INTERRELATIONSHIP SHOULD BE SYSTEMATIC

  - WITH THE PURPOSE OF EXPLAINING AND PREDICTING A PHENOMENA
• SYSTEMATIC WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD IN ORDER TO DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN, PREDICT AND CONTROL IT.

  
  

  THIS HIGHLIGHTED THE PURPOSE AND USE OF A THEORY
• WE SHOULD ALSO REMEMBER THAT A THEORY IS NOT A LAW!- BECAUSE A THEORY IS TENTATIVE, TEMPORARY, MEANING IT CHANGES, IT EVOLVES AND CAN DEVELOP THROUGH TIME, JUST LIKE WITH THEORIES THAT WE WILL BE STUDYING LATER ON. WHILE LAW ON THE OTHER HAND, IS CONSIDERED TO BE “TRUTH”, MEANING IT REMAINS TO BE TRUE IN ALL PLACES AND IN ALL TIME.
• Idea/s -> Concept -> Theory
• METAPARADIGM - DEFINE TO BE AS THE CORE CONTENT OF A DISCIPLINE, STATED IN THE MOST GLOBAL OR ABSTRACT TERMS. IT FUNCTION TO SUMMARIZE THE INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL MISSIONS OF THE DISCIPLINE & PLACE A BOUNDARY ON THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE DISCIPLINE. METAPARADIGM ARE BROAD CONCEPTS THAT DESCRIBE AND DEFINE A DISCIPLINE OR PROFESSION.
• FOR NURSING, THERE ARE 4 METAPARADIGM, OTHER TERMED IT AS MAJOR CONCEPTS
• PERSON - GENERALLY DEFINED AS THE RECIPIENT OF NURSING CARE LIKE THE INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
• ENVIRONMENT - DEFINED AS THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ASPECTS OF LIFE THAT INFLUENCE THE PERSON
• HEALTH - DEFINED AS THE HOLISTIC LEVEL OF WELLNESS THAT THE PERSON EXPERIENCE; STATUS OF WELLBEING OF A PERSON
• NURSING - DEFINED AS THE AUTONOMOUS AND COLLABORATIVE CARE OF INDIVIDUALS OF ALL AGES, FAMILIES, GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES, SICK OR WELL AND IN ALL SETTINGS
• MODELS - REPRESENTATION OF INTERACTION AMONG AND BETWEEN CONCEPTS SHOWING PATTERNS; OTHER TERMED IT AS PARADIGM OR FRAMEWORK.
• THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF MODELS
• VERBAL MODELS - STATEMENTS THAT EXPLAIN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONCEPTS. ALSO TERMED AS PROPOSITIONS. SIMPLY, THIS PERTAINS TO THE NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF CONCEPTS IN A THEORY.
• SCHEMATIC MODELS - EXPLAINS AN IDEA BY USING SCHEMA, SYMBOLS, OR PHYSICAL VISUALIZATION, MAYBE A DIAGRAM, DRAWING, GRAPHS, OR PICTURES THAT FACILITATE UNDERSTANDING. IF VERBAL MODELS ARE NARRATIVE, SCHEMATIC MODELS USE SYMBOLS
• STRUCTURAL FORMS IMPLY SPECIFIC MEANING, SUGGESTING THE KIND OF INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG AND BETWEEN CONCEPTS.
• Propositions

  • a statement that shows a significant relationship between and among variables