Nursing Theory NSG 6006
Week 3
1
Week 3: Nursing Theory
© 2017 South University
Page 1 of 2
NSG 6006 Pre-Specialty Evaluation
©2017 South University
, Nursing Theory NSG 6006
Week 3
2
Theory
The theory era began with a strong emphasis on knowledge development. Although in the previous two
decades proponents of nursing theory and nursing theorists had begun to publish their works, it is
noteworthy that they denied being theorists when they were introduced as such at the 1978 Nurse
Educator Conference in New York with the Nursing Theory theme. There was understanding among those
attending the conference that the presenters were theorists, and by the second day, the audience
responded to their denials with laughter. This seems strange today, but this was the first time most of the
theorists even met each other. Their works had grown out of content organization in nursing education
courses, nursing practice administration in large agencies, and structures for the thought and action of
practice. It was clear that their works were nursing theoretical structures even before they recognized
them as such. The theory era, coupled with the research and graduate education eras, led to
understanding of the scientific process beyond production of a scientific product Theory forms the
foundation of knowledge. Nursing theories form the foundation of nursing practice, research, and
education. Throughout your professional life, you will be applying theory and the knowledge derived from
theory in your practice environment regardless of the setting. An understanding of the nature of nursing
knowledge from a historical perspective will help you relate better to where nursing theory development
is today.
The new millennium has witnessed a rapid change in the global healthcare arena. This profession is
continually evolving to face the monumental changes that have emerged. In the past, nursing theories
were taught strictly from an academic point of view. Those in practice saw little connection or integration
of theory and practice. However, the contemporary move toward evidence-based practice has seen
nursing professionals applying theory to describe, predict, and prescribe nursing practice.
Relevance to Present and Future
Theories are a reflection of the past, present, and future of nursing. Understanding the relevance of
theories will enhance the relationship of concept with practice. This will help you comprehend the
complex phenomena and interconnectedness between theory and practice and build a new way of
thinking, understanding, working, and living.
Relevance to Research
Research on theories help in the systematic investigation of the domain of knowledge. Research acts as a
source of knowledge development. Research studies conducted on nursing theories help highlight the
interlinking cyclical connection between theory and practice. Learners get an idea about the
interconnectedness between real world clinical issues, theory, and actual research.
Early knowledge consisted of loosely connected clusters of concepts. Later knowledge developed
interrelatedstatements connecting the concepts. Advanced theory provided a knowledge base for
intervention strategies that clusters of concepts could not.
Identification of theory is important to understand the characteristics of theory structures. A
complete theory of nursing identifies the three elements of context, content, and process; some
theorists articulate each element better than others.
Context is the environment in which nursing acts occur; the context of a theory describes the
nature of the world of nursing and may describe the nature of the patient’s world.
Page 2 of 2
NSG 6006 Pre-Specialty Evaluation
©2017 South University
, Nursing Theory NSG 6006
Week 3
3
Content includes the subject matter of a theory; this comprises the stable components that are
acted on or that do the acting
Process implies the action part of the theory, the intervention elements.
In addition to these elements, all theories should be examined for certain common factors:
Theories should be based on concepts and propositions
Theories should be specific to the nursing context Theories can be applied to many situations
Theories should be relevant to potential users
Theories should be easy to define it in operational terms
Theories should correspond with empirical findings Theories should demonstrate internal consistency.
Florence Nightingale made the first attempts at theory-based nursing during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. She organized a group of women to deliver care under her supervision and that of war surgeons.
She established the need for hygiene, with environmental change as the means to enhance healing. For
her, the nursing domain was the patient and the environment in which care was offered. Her goals were to
expose the unhealthy conditions of soldiers, to gain support for the need for nurses, and to achieve formal
education for nurses. She was the first to use data collection and analysis to prove efficacy of nursing
actions.
Theory is defined as "an organized, coherent, and systematic articulation of a set of statements related to
significant questions in a discipline that are communicated in a meaningful whole; a symbolic depiction of
aspects of reality that are discovered or invented for describing, explaining, predicting, or prescribing
responses, events, situations, conditions, or relationships" (Meleis, 1997, pp. 8,12)1. Thus, a theory is a
coherent set of propositions and statements that describe (factor-isolating), explain (factor-relating), and
predict (situation- relating) phenomena as well as prescribe (situation-producing) actions toward goals.
(Dickoff et al., 1968)
Theory development requires perceiving phenomena that are peculiar to nursing and proposing
meaningful explanation for these perceptions. The nursing profession identifies four levels of theory—
metatheory, grand theory, middle range theory, and practice theory. The theories are classified based on
their levels of abstraction or complexity.
A complete structure includes a conceptual model, derived theories, and correlated empirical research
methods. Each conceptual model and theory is comprised of concepts and propositions. The complete
structure forms a hierarchy that is based on levels of abstraction.
Most abstract: the conceptual model that provides the context or frame of reference for theory-
generating and theory-testing research
Intermediate level: the theory that is generated or tested
Most concrete: the empirical research methods used to collect and analyze the data
Meleis, A. I. (1997). Theoretical nursing: development and progress (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Page 3 of 2
NSG 6006 Pre-Specialty Evaluation
©2017 South University
Week 3
1
Week 3: Nursing Theory
© 2017 South University
Page 1 of 2
NSG 6006 Pre-Specialty Evaluation
©2017 South University
, Nursing Theory NSG 6006
Week 3
2
Theory
The theory era began with a strong emphasis on knowledge development. Although in the previous two
decades proponents of nursing theory and nursing theorists had begun to publish their works, it is
noteworthy that they denied being theorists when they were introduced as such at the 1978 Nurse
Educator Conference in New York with the Nursing Theory theme. There was understanding among those
attending the conference that the presenters were theorists, and by the second day, the audience
responded to their denials with laughter. This seems strange today, but this was the first time most of the
theorists even met each other. Their works had grown out of content organization in nursing education
courses, nursing practice administration in large agencies, and structures for the thought and action of
practice. It was clear that their works were nursing theoretical structures even before they recognized
them as such. The theory era, coupled with the research and graduate education eras, led to
understanding of the scientific process beyond production of a scientific product Theory forms the
foundation of knowledge. Nursing theories form the foundation of nursing practice, research, and
education. Throughout your professional life, you will be applying theory and the knowledge derived from
theory in your practice environment regardless of the setting. An understanding of the nature of nursing
knowledge from a historical perspective will help you relate better to where nursing theory development
is today.
The new millennium has witnessed a rapid change in the global healthcare arena. This profession is
continually evolving to face the monumental changes that have emerged. In the past, nursing theories
were taught strictly from an academic point of view. Those in practice saw little connection or integration
of theory and practice. However, the contemporary move toward evidence-based practice has seen
nursing professionals applying theory to describe, predict, and prescribe nursing practice.
Relevance to Present and Future
Theories are a reflection of the past, present, and future of nursing. Understanding the relevance of
theories will enhance the relationship of concept with practice. This will help you comprehend the
complex phenomena and interconnectedness between theory and practice and build a new way of
thinking, understanding, working, and living.
Relevance to Research
Research on theories help in the systematic investigation of the domain of knowledge. Research acts as a
source of knowledge development. Research studies conducted on nursing theories help highlight the
interlinking cyclical connection between theory and practice. Learners get an idea about the
interconnectedness between real world clinical issues, theory, and actual research.
Early knowledge consisted of loosely connected clusters of concepts. Later knowledge developed
interrelatedstatements connecting the concepts. Advanced theory provided a knowledge base for
intervention strategies that clusters of concepts could not.
Identification of theory is important to understand the characteristics of theory structures. A
complete theory of nursing identifies the three elements of context, content, and process; some
theorists articulate each element better than others.
Context is the environment in which nursing acts occur; the context of a theory describes the
nature of the world of nursing and may describe the nature of the patient’s world.
Page 2 of 2
NSG 6006 Pre-Specialty Evaluation
©2017 South University
, Nursing Theory NSG 6006
Week 3
3
Content includes the subject matter of a theory; this comprises the stable components that are
acted on or that do the acting
Process implies the action part of the theory, the intervention elements.
In addition to these elements, all theories should be examined for certain common factors:
Theories should be based on concepts and propositions
Theories should be specific to the nursing context Theories can be applied to many situations
Theories should be relevant to potential users
Theories should be easy to define it in operational terms
Theories should correspond with empirical findings Theories should demonstrate internal consistency.
Florence Nightingale made the first attempts at theory-based nursing during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. She organized a group of women to deliver care under her supervision and that of war surgeons.
She established the need for hygiene, with environmental change as the means to enhance healing. For
her, the nursing domain was the patient and the environment in which care was offered. Her goals were to
expose the unhealthy conditions of soldiers, to gain support for the need for nurses, and to achieve formal
education for nurses. She was the first to use data collection and analysis to prove efficacy of nursing
actions.
Theory is defined as "an organized, coherent, and systematic articulation of a set of statements related to
significant questions in a discipline that are communicated in a meaningful whole; a symbolic depiction of
aspects of reality that are discovered or invented for describing, explaining, predicting, or prescribing
responses, events, situations, conditions, or relationships" (Meleis, 1997, pp. 8,12)1. Thus, a theory is a
coherent set of propositions and statements that describe (factor-isolating), explain (factor-relating), and
predict (situation- relating) phenomena as well as prescribe (situation-producing) actions toward goals.
(Dickoff et al., 1968)
Theory development requires perceiving phenomena that are peculiar to nursing and proposing
meaningful explanation for these perceptions. The nursing profession identifies four levels of theory—
metatheory, grand theory, middle range theory, and practice theory. The theories are classified based on
their levels of abstraction or complexity.
A complete structure includes a conceptual model, derived theories, and correlated empirical research
methods. Each conceptual model and theory is comprised of concepts and propositions. The complete
structure forms a hierarchy that is based on levels of abstraction.
Most abstract: the conceptual model that provides the context or frame of reference for theory-
generating and theory-testing research
Intermediate level: the theory that is generated or tested
Most concrete: the empirical research methods used to collect and analyze the data
Meleis, A. I. (1997). Theoretical nursing: development and progress (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Page 3 of 2
NSG 6006 Pre-Specialty Evaluation
©2017 South University
