TFN

• Concept


  An idea or mental image of something
• Theory


  A set of concepts, definitions, relationships, and assumptions that project a systematic view of a phenomena
• Characteristics of a Theory

  • Interrelates concepts in a way that creates a different way of looking at a phenomenon
  • Must be logical in nature
  • Should be relatively simple yet generalizable
  • Can be the basis for hypotheses that can be tested
  • Contributes to and assists in increasing the general body of knowledge within the discipline
  • Can be utilized by practitioners to guide and improve practice
  • Must be consistent with other validated theories, laws and principles
• Purposes of Nursing Theory

  • In Education - clarifies central meanings and improves the status of the profession
  • In Research - sets limits on what questions to ask and what methods to use
  • In Clinical Practice - guides research, provides goals for assessment/diagnosis/intervention, renders practice more efficient and effective
• Nursing Paradigm


  • Person/client
  • Health
  • Environment/situation
  • Nursing
• Metaparadigm


  A global perspective of a discipline that identifies the primary phenomena of interest to that discipline and explains how the discipline deals with those phenomena in a unique manner
• Types of Nursing Theories

  • Grand theories - broad and complex
  • Middle-range theories - address specific phenomena and reflect practice
  • Descriptive theories - describe a phenomenon, speculate on why they occur, and describe their consequences
  • Predictive theories - identify conditions or factors that predict a phenomenon
  • Prescriptive theories - address nursing interventions and predict their consequences
• Reasons to Study Nursing Theory

  • Everyday practice enriches theory
  • Both practice and theory are guided by values and beliefs
  • Theory helps to reframe thinking about nursing
  • Theory guides use of ideas and techniques
  • Theory can close the gap between theory and research
  • To envision potentialities
  • To explain the practice of nursing as distinct from other disciplines
• How Nurses Use Theory in Practice

  • Organize patient data
  • Understand patient data
  • Analyze patient data
  • Make decisions about nursing interventions
  • Plan patient care
  • Predict outcomes of care
  • Evaluate patient outcomes
• Florence Nightingale was born in May 12, 1820 in Florence, Italy
• Nightingale trained as a nurse in Kaiserwerth, Germany at a Protestant religious community with a hospital and after 3 months she was declared trained as a nurse (1851)
• Nightingale's Definition of Nursing


  The act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery, that involves the nurse's initiative to configure environmental settings appropriate for the gradual restoration of the patient's health, and that external factors associated with the patient's surroundings affect life or biologic and physiologic processes, and his development
• Nightingale turned down several offers of marriage to pursue her career
• Nightingale went to the Crimean War at age 34 with 38 nurses, where she reduced the mortality rate at the Scutari Barrack Hospital from 42.7% to 2.2%
• Nightingale's book "Notes on Nursing: What it is and What it is Not" was first published in 1859
• Assumptions of Nightingale's Theory

  • Law - "thoughts of God"
  • Natural laws
  • Mankind can achieve perfection
  • Nursing is a calling
  • Nursing is an art and a science
  • Nursing is achieved through environmental alteration
  • Nursing requires a specific educational base
• Nightingale's Canons


  • Ventilation and Warming
  • Physical Environment - Light, noise, Cleanliness of rooms/wall, Health of houses, Bed and bedding, Personal cleanliness
  • Psychological Environment - Chattering hopes and advices, Taking food, Nutritional Status, Petty management/observation
  • Nursing Care Plan & Management
• Nursing work


  To be done with enthusiasm and is so important it should be thought of as a religious vow
• Nursing


  An art and a science
• Nursing


  • Practiced by educated individuals using current research and methods as well as compassion and common logic
• Nursing


  Achieved through environmental alteration
• Nightingale's Canons - Major Concepts

  • Ventilation and Warming
  • Physical Environment
  • Light, noise
  • Cleanliness of rooms/wall
  • Health of houses
  • Bed and bedding
  • Personal cleanliness
  • Chattering hopes and advices
  • Psychological Environment
  • Taking food
  • Nutritional Status
  • Petty management/observation
  • Nursing Care Plan & Management
• Nursing


  Requires a specific educational base, cannot be taught by books alone, needs a combination of clinical and theoretical training
• Nursing and medicine are most effective when working in a collaborative manner
• Environment


  Concepts of ventilation, warmth, light, diet, cleanliness and noise
• Nightingale focused on the physical aspects of the environment
• Nursing


  An act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery
• 5 Essential Components of a Healthy Environment

  • Pure fresh air
  • Pure water
  • Effective drainage
  • Cleanliness
  • Light (especially direct sunlight)
• Any deficiency in one or more of these factors could lead to impaired functioning of life processes or diminished health status
• The factors posed great significance during Nightingale's time, when health institutions had poor sanitation, and health workers had little education and training and were frequently incompetent and unreliable in attending to the needs of the patients
• 5 Major Components of a Healing Environment

  • Ventilation
  • Light
  • Warmth
  • Control noise
  • Control odor
• Nightingale's theory was shown to be applicable during the Crimean War when she, along with other nurses she had trained, took care of injured soldiers by attending to their immediate needs, when communicable diseases and rapid spread of infections were rampant in this early period in the development of disease-capable medicines
• The practice of environment configuration according to patient's health or disease condition is still applied today, in such cases as patients infected with Clostridium tetani (suffering from tetanus), who need minimal noise to calm them and a quiet environment to prevent seizure-causing stimulus
• Concerns of Environmental Theory

  • Proper ventilation
  • Light
  • Cleanliness and sanitation
  • Warmth, diet and quiet environment
  • Unnecessary noise
  • Dietary intake
  • Petty management
• Nursing


  Different from medicine and the goal of nursing is to place the patient in the best possible condition for nature to act
• Nursing


  The "activities that promote health (as outlined in canons) which occur in any caregiving situation. They can be done by anyone
• Major component of nursing

  Manipulation of physical environment
• Person


  Multidimensional, composed of biological, psychological, social and spiritual components
• Health


  Not only to be well, but to be able to use well every power we have
• Disease


  Considered as dysease or the absence of comfort