Nursing as a profession, combines various disciplines such as social sciences, physical science, technology and nursing theories in healthcare provision (Munhall, 2012). Nursing theories however form the basic frameworks that guide the nursing practice. Through nursing theories, the nursing practice is distinguishable from other professions.
In my healthcare setup, nursing theories offer guidance on the assessment, evaluation and interventions used in nursing care. As such, the quality of nursing care can be gauged. Additionally, nursing theories provide the basis for obtaining reliable and valid data on patient’s health status in addition to its help in creating common terminologies that can be used in the profession.
Personally, the numerous contemporary nursing theories have played a pivotal role in my nursing practice. In this manuscript I will however appraise the role the “Need Theory” and “Self Care Theory” have played in my nursing practice. The Need Theory by Virginia Henderson, commonly referred to as “the Nightingale of Modern Nursing”, has been instrumental to me in helping my patients to regain their independence as a pathway to their recovery. As the theory states, the sole role of a nurse is to help a person, whether sick or well, to carry out those activities that will help them to heal or recover, that he would normally carry out without help (Masters, 2014).
The Self Care Theory on the other hand, has been instrumental in helping me to develop my personal care before seeking to care for my patients. As this theory opines, nurses out to have healthy physical, social, interpersonal and psychological beings so as to care wholesomely for their patients (Masters, 2014).
References
Munhall, P. L. (2012). Nursing research. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Masters, K. (2014). Nursing theories: a framework for professional practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
