Theoretical Foundations in Nursing

EVOLUTION OF NURSING HISTORY OF NURSING THEORY

Nursing in the past

- Basic form, started out in home, taken Florence Nightingale

care by family members, medicine is
- English lady from a wealthy
not considered science. Nursing as
familyprsp during the Victorian Era
practice is said to begin between
- Known to be the “Lady with the
1840s & 1845
Lamp.”
- Florence Nightingale lead several
- Nursing theorist, writer and
women to a group of Crimean war
statistician
soldiers.
- First nursing theorist who created
- As time went on, hospitals grew larger
detailed reports of both medical and
and education become more
nursing matters as chief nurse for the
comprehensive. Nurse of all races
British Crimean War in the 1850s.
were accepted into programs and
- She envisioned nurse as a body of
became part of the workforce
educated women when women were
- Technology was brought into
neither educated nor employed in
hospitals in the form of advance
public service.
patient beds, stetos, bp devices.
- Her pioneer activities in nursing
Nursing in the Present practice & her subsequent writings
about the nursing served as a guide
- Nurses are required to go to college
for establishing nursing schools in the
or program before being welcomed in
US at the beginning of the 20th
a hospital.
century.
- Work alongside with RN to gain
o Nursing began with a strong emphasis
experience before graduation (Clinical
on practice.
Exposure)
o Throughout that century, nurses
- Nurses use technology to monitor
worked toward the development of
their patients including the vital signs,
the profession in what has been
medications and etc.
viewed as successive historical eras.
- Information of the patients are stored
in a computer system HISTORICAL ERAS
- MRI machines, X-rays and CT Scans
are used to observe health concerns. Curriculum Era
- Color of uniform distinguishes what - Moving nursing education from
unit a nurse is assigned. hospital-based diploma programs into
college and universities.

Changes in Education Research Era

- One of the honorable professions for - Research is the path to new

many decades knowledge
- Angels in Earth - Part of the curricula of developing
- Nurses are essential in providing graduate programs.
quality health care. Graduation Education Era
 Theoretical Foundations in Nursing

- Master’s program in nursing emerged Nursing and Philosophy

to meet the need for nurses with
- Philo. Studies concepts that structure
specialized education in nursing.
thought processes, foundations and
- Nursing Theory and Nursing
presumptions.
conceptual models were included as
- It is an approach for thinking about
courses in the study of nursing.
the nature of people, the methods
Theory Era that should be used to create a
scientific knowledge and the ethics
- Outgrowth of research era.
involved. It denotes a perspective,
- Research without Theory produced
implying a certain broad, “taken for
isolated information however
granted” assumptions.
research and theory produced nursing
science. Epistemology – branch of Philo. That is
concerned with the nature and scope of
SIGNIFICANCE OF THEORY FOR NURSING AS A
knowledge
DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSION
Rationalism – the epistemological view
Discipline – specific to the academia and
that -regards reason as the chief source
refers to a branch of education, a department
and test of knowledge or any view
of learning or a domain of knowledge.
appealing to reason as a source of
Profession – specialized field of practice knowledge or justification.
founded upon the theoretical structure of the
Must have reason prior to the actual
science or knowledge of the discipline and the
implementation
accompanying practice abilities.
Empiricism – power of sensory experience
- Theory is not only essential for the
that scientific knowledge was discovered
existence of nursing as an academic
through the generalization of observed
discipline, it is also vital to the
facts in the natural world. Make use of
practice of the profession.
what is perceived by the senses. Inductive
- Clearly, nursing is recognized as a
type of reasoning
profession today and the criteria for a
profession served as a guide for the A philosophy of science that
development of the profession. makes use of objective and
tangible data or those that are
perceived by the senses to
HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE observe and collect data
Nursing as a Science Early 20th Century Views

- Science is a logical, systematic and - Philosophers focused on the analysis

coherent way to solve problems and of theory structure, whereas scientists
answer questions. focused on empirical research
- It is a collection of facts know in area - Positivism (imposed on the mind by
and the process used to obtain that experience) is the philosophy of
knowledge. science that Information is derived
from logical and mathematical
treatments and reports of sensory
experience IS the exclusive of all
authoritative knowledge.
 Theoretical Foundations in Nursing

Emergent Views of Science and Theory in relationships among concepts for the
the Late 20th Century purpose of describing, explaining,
predicting and/ or prescribing (Tomey
- Empiricists argue that for science to
and Aligood, 2008). Eg. Neuman’s
maintain objectivity, data collection
theory of Optimal Client Stability
and analysis must be independent
with a theory.
- Brown argues that the new Components of a Theory
epistemology challenged the
 Concepts – Mental images, ideas that
empiricist view of perception by
helped to describe the phenomenon
acknowledging that theories play a
 Definitions-convey the general
significant role in determining what
meaning of the concepts.
the scientist will observe and how it
 Assumptions or propositions – major
will be interpreted.
points or idead or statements that
- He identified 3 different views of the
describes the concepts
relationship between theories and
 Phenomenon –aspect of reality that
observation:
can be sense or experienced.
1. Scientist are merely passive
observers of occurrence in the Nursing theory
empirical Observable data are
objective truth waiting to be - a body of knowledge that describes
discovered. or explains nursing and is used to
2. Theories structure what the support nursing practice.
scientist perceives in the empirical - an organized and systematic
world. articulation of a set of statements
3. Presupposed theories and related to questions in the discipline
observable data interact in the of nursing.
process of scientific investigation. What are the purposes of nursing theory?
Knowledge Structure Levels: - It guides nursing practice and
 Metaparadigm – person (Recipients generates knowledge
of care), Environment (Internal and - It helps describe or explain nursing
External factors), health (defined by - Enables nurses to know WHY they are
person) and nursing (Nursing Actions) doing WHAT they are doing.
 Philosophy – Nightingale
 Concept Models – are frameworks or  Middle-range Theory – Maintaining
paradigm that provide broad frame of optimal client stability with structured
for systematic approaches to the activity (body recall) in a community
phenomenon with which the setting for the healthy aging. This
discipline is concerned”. Provide addresses more concrete and more
different views of nursing according to narrowly defined phenomena and
the characteristics of the model. Eg. reflect practice than a grand theory.
Neuman’s System Model
 Grand Theory – provides an overall
 Theory – a set of concepts, definitions, framework for structuring broad and
relationship and assumptions that abstract ideas. Composed of concepts
project a purposive, systematic view representing global and extremely
of phenomena by designing inter- complex phenomenon.
Theoretical Foundations in Nursing